TABC says Bieber photo is not incriminating, but were TABC certification laws still broken?

For now, it appears as though Justin Bieber and the Houston club where he was partying recently have been cleared by the TABC, but did employees still break laws they learned in their TABC certification course?

The TABC has confirmed that a complaint was filed regarding the picture of Bieber holding an open bottle of DosXX beer while at NOX Houston, but TABC’s communications director now says the photo is not enough evidence to take the investigation much further. Not only could the photo have been altered via Photoshop, but it would be nearly impossible to prove that the bottle actually contained alcohol … In other words, who’s to say Bieber wasn’t holding an empty bottle? Or maybe the bottle had water inside? These are the theories being thrown around as to why the photo is not incriminating.

So let’s entertain these theories for a moment. Let’s say Bieber really was holding just an empty bottle or a bottle with water inside. Is that legal? I guess it could be argued that he wouldn’t ACTUALLY be in possession of alcohol at that point, but when TABC agents bust minors for possession, do we really think they check the cans/bottles to make sure there’s actually alcohol inside and let them go free if not?

This is why our TABC certification online course places so much emphasis on watching your customers. While a TABC investigation may not go very far if one of your minor customers is holding an empty bottle of booze, it’s still not a good idea to allow it. And while they’re in your establishment, you could certainly refuse to allow it. It’s always best to be on the safe side and protect yourself, your employer, your customer, and those who they may come in contact with.

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