Festival-goers flee the Shores of Erie International Wine Festival during an intense storm, September 5, 2014. (Photo by Kevin Black)Festival-goers flee the Shores of Erie International Wine Festival during an intense storm, September 5, 2014. (Photo by Kevin Black)
Windsor

Wine Festival Won't Fold: Lawyer

The lawyer representing the Shores of Erie Wine Festival doesn't have any reason to believe it will fold due to the alcohol-related charges before the courts.

Patrick Ducharme says the board members are pleading not guilty.

He says it's extremely rare for police to go after board members with charges like these for a festival they oversee. "It is so rare that I've been doing this for over three decades and I've never seen them, in these particular circumstances, charge a board member," says Ducharme. "Based on what I know from them, from my clients, I feel completely comfortable that they did everything that was reasonable and natural for board members to do in these circumstances."

The board members will make their first appearance Monday in provincial court, where they each face two charges. "The first of the two charges is an allegation that each person intentionally, with knowledge, served liquor to somebody that was under the age," says Ducharme. "The second charge has to do with not being diligent about checking the identification of someone who is apparently under the age of 19."

Ducharme says the charges don't make specific mention of 18-year-old Emily Bernauer, who died in a car accident after the event. Amherstburg police later found alcohol and THC (marijuana) in her system.

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