crime and punishment  Monday, December 14, 2009    The basics of
the story suggested that the winery – Paradise Ridge – and a
local 7-11 store had served and sold alcoholic beverages to an
underage driver who later drove into some trees at a high rate
of speed and permanently disabled his passenger. That
passenger’s family sued the winery, the 7-11, and the driver.
According to the newspaper account, the winery was dinged for $3
million (to be covered by their insurance); the 7-11 will pay
another half million (also covered by insurance) and the driver
will pay $105,000, of which $100,000 is covered by his
insurance.  The more you dig into the details of this story, the
more you can’t help but conclude that the legal system is
handing out the stiffest punishment to the least guilty party –
the winery.  Paradise Ridge was simply a venue for a wedding on
the day of the accident. The 19-year-old driver was served beer,
not wine. Apparently he was served “six to eight beers” and was
not ID’ed. He and his friend