FOR PARENTS OF MINORS

For a minor (e.g. someone under 21), as with adult offenders, an officer must have probable cause to stop the motorist. When the officer knows the driver is under 21 years of age and that he or she has consumed alcohol, two methods of law enforcement are possible.

In less serious cases, the officer will issue the driver a citation of DUI, confiscate the minor's license and serve the minor with a Notice of Suspension. The officer will not arrest the minor or request chemical testing. If the officer believes the minor is too intoxicated to drive he may proceed with a custodial arrest. This may be determined by a number of methods including sobriety tests and chemical tests that the minor may refuse to take. If the minor refuses tests or fails them, the officer will issue a citation for DUI, serve the minor with a Notice of Suspension, and confiscate the driver's license.

Your child's license will be suspended either for the entire amount of probation or until your child turns 21. Also, an ignition interlock will be installed in your child's car. An ignition interlock is a device that your child must blow into that detects any alcohol in their system, and if they have been drinking the car will not start.

The law in Texas is rather strict concerning DUI's and DWI's:

First Offense
    -up to a $2,000 fine
    -72 hours to 180 days in jail
    -driver's license suspension: 90 days to 1 year

Second Offense
    -up to a $4,000 fine
    -30 days to 1 year in jail
    -driver's license suspension: 180 days to 2 years

Third Offense
    -up to a $10,000 fine
    -2 to 10 years in penitentiary
    -driver's license suspension: 180 days to 2 years

If you're thinking about not fighting your DWI charge and pleading guilty, here are a few reasons that might change your mind:



The average cost for pleading guilty is around $7,000 not including attorney's fees and how much the insurance company will charge you, which could be $1,000 or more for the next 3 years.


Suspension or Removal from School
U nder most school districts' code of conduct, being arrested of a misdemeanor, even when it is unrelated to school, can subject your child to disciplinary sanctions. These can range from the minimum of an on-campus suspension to removal from school entirely, depending on the child’s perceived problems at school and whether this arrest is related or unrelated to that. The school can require that your child attend the Alternative Learning Center, thereby jeopardizing your child’s placement in AP classes or getting the same level of education he or she would be able to get attending regular school.

Inconvenience
For people under 21 who receive a DWI, their driver’s license is significantly curtailed. Some judges will not even allow an occupational license. Many will require an ignition interlock, and the law mandates use of the devise until the completion of probation. What that means is that you would have the financial burden and the problems of having the device installed on the parent’s car if that is the car that your child uses.

College Application Process
Your child would have to disclose his or her arrest and conviction when applying to colleges and anytime that this occurs, there are usually subsequent packets of information that need to be drafted. We have endeavored, on some of our client’s cases who had unavoidable convictions, to work with the student at length on the application process and the experience of what happened to them as a catalyst to succeed and become a better member of society. This is something that you have to confront head on, and although we can put the best spin on it, it is still something to be dealt with. Some colleges may consider that a bar to admission. Hopefully it is viewed properly as a mistake, but that is not always the case.

Effect on Employment
For many of the jobs that high school students or minors are allowed to have, if the job involves driving there may be a problem because a criminal background check is one of the easiest and most inexpensive checks for an employer to run on an individual. When competing with other moniors for the same job, an employer may be more likely to chose the one with a clean record. If you did not disclose this arrest, it would almost certainly effect that employer’s decision to hire or not hire.

Intervention
The most significant factor for a minor accused of DWI is that both the court system as well as the judicial process is designed to make sure that the minor does not have a substance problem. This means that he or she is more likely to have to submit to substance abuse intervention in the way of classes, treatment, and counseling. For the parent, this is another significant amount of time. In our office, we mandate that our clients are screened by independent chemical dependency specialists to make sure that there is no issue that needs to be addressed and if there is, we have to address it as a minor so that it doesn’t come up again in adulthood when it would be more devastating to their livelihood.

Effect on Travel
Some countries will bar your admission if you're an offender. Canada, for instance, will limit or bar admission into their country if a conviction is on your record. Foreign countries are more likely to ban admission completely if the offense is a felony. The attorneys at Sumpter and Gonzalez can help you with an application for limited admission, but the application process can take months to go through.

License suspension
A DWI arrest triggers not only a criminal case, but also an administrative case against the driver. If you were arrested for DWI, DPs will seek to suspend your license- meaning you cannot drive at all- for no less than 90 days and as much as 6 months, depending upon the facts in your case.

WE ARE NOT ATTEMPTING TO SCARE YOU! All we want to do is maintain your family structure and it is our job to maintain the freedom and independence that you have. These are some of our hurdles and these are hurdles that we have helped people over in the past. You need a good lawyer to predict, navigate, and guide you through these obstacles.