Alcohol-service cases are decided on the venue’s own records. The list below is what Preston Rideout asks for at the start of an engagement, why each item matters, and what it can and cannot show. Requesting these early, and preserving video before it is overwritten, shapes the rest of the case.
1. Surveillance video
Request: every camera covering the bar, floor, door, restrooms, parking, and exterior for the full visit, plus any retained clips and the system’s retention settings.
What it shows: the patron’s condition over time, from each server’s vantage point; what was served and how; who else was buying; where staff and managers were; and how the venue responded to the incident. What it does not show: what was said, what the server was told, and anything outside the frame. Video is usually overwritten within days or weeks, so a preservation demand should go out immediately.
2. Point-of-sale, tab, and payment records
Request: the full POS export for the night, including item-level detail, timestamps, server and station IDs, voids, comps, and tab transfers; credit-card and receipt records; bottle-service and event tabs.
What it shows: what was rung to whom and when, which bartender served it, and how consumption was spread across tabs and buyers. Combined with video, POS data reconstructs the service sequence to the minute. What it does not show: drinks that were never rung in, drinks consumed from a round bought by someone else, and alcohol brought in or consumed elsewhere.
3. Staffing schedules and station assignments
Request: the schedule for the night, time-clock records, station and section assignments, and the manager on duty.
What it shows: who was responsible for the patron, whether the floor was covered, the staff-to-patron ratio at the hour that mattered, and whether a manager was positioned to intervene.
4. Training and certification files
Request: seller-server and responsible-vendor certificates for every employee on duty, with dates; the venue’s training manual, onboarding materials, and policy acknowledgments; and records of refresher training.
What it shows: whether staff held the certification the state or the venue required, what they were taught to recognize and do, and whether the venue tracked it. In safe-harbor and responsible-vendor states, these records go directly to the statutory defense.
5. Written policies
Request: alcohol-service, identification, cut-off, refusal, bottle-service, promotion, security, ejection, and incident policies in effect on the date.
What it shows: what the venue expected of its staff. The policy is the baseline against which the video and POS data are measured; the gap between the two is where most cases are decided.
6. Incident reports, logs, and statements
Request: the incident report for the event, refusal and ejection logs, manager shift reports, security logs, and any written or recorded staff statements.
What it shows: the venue’s contemporaneous account, whether it kept the records its own program required, and how it responded. Missing or late-created reports are themselves evidence about the program.
7. Regulatory and police history
Request: the licensee’s history with the state alcohol authority (citations, warnings, administrative actions), police calls for service, and prior incident reports.
What it shows: whether the venue had notice of problems and what it did about them.
8. Promotions, events, and third parties
Request: drink specials, event flyers, promoter agreements, banquet event orders, and third-party security or vendor contracts.
What it shows: conditions that increase volume and pace of service, and who was responsible for control when outside parties were involved.
9. Testimony
Depositions of bartenders, servers, door staff, managers, patrons, and witnesses fill in what the records cannot: what staff observed, what they were told, and why they made the decisions they made. The expert’s analysis is strongest when the records and the testimony are read together.
Working with counsel. Preston reviews the production as it arrives and tells counsel early what is missing and what the records do and do not support. See litigation services for how an engagement runs.