This is about Dramshop laws, which, thankfully, were repealed in WI several years ago. However, if the cops were to walk into my bar and see a man passed out next to a drink, I would get a ticket. It is illegal to "serve an intoxicated customer." Weird, huh? Since once you have 2 drinks, you are legally intoxicated. This law is mainly overlooked in WI, since nobody only drinks 2 drinks and goes home, but if the cops chose to, they could write tickets for it. Kind of like the
Ridiculous US laws that are rarely if ever prosecuted.
In the face of rising concerns about liquor consumption and personal injury, many states chose to regulate alcohol through dramshop laws. A dramshop is any type of drinking establishment where liquor is sold for consumption on the premises. Dramshop statutes impose liability on sellers of alcoholic beverages for injuries caused by an intoxicated patron. Under such statutes, a person injured by a drunk patron sues the establishment where the patron was served. The purpose of dramshop laws is to hold responsible those who enjoy economic benefit from the sale of liquor, thereby ensuring that a loss is not borne solely by an innocent victim (as when the intoxicated person who caused the injuries has no assets and no insurance).
The first dramshop law, enacted in Wisconsin in 1849, required saloons or taverns to post a bond for expenses that might result from civil lawsuits against their patrons. Many states followed Wisconsin's lead, and dramshop laws were prominent until the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, when most were repealed. However, the 1980s brought renewed concern over the consequences of overindulgence in alcohol, and public pressure led to the passage of new dramshop statutes. By 1993, thirty-six states had imposed some form of liability on purveyors of alcoholic beverages for injuries caused by their customers.