DC Underage DUI Lawyer
If you are under 21 and you are charged with a DUI in DC, you will be facing a different set of standards than most DUIs. It is important to have a DC underage DUI lawyer by your side who fully understands the DUI process in DC and has experience practicing DUI defense in DC. To learn more about the charges you are facing call and schedule a consultation with a DC DUI lawyer today.
- Being Charged As a Minor
- What to Expect From An Underage DUI Case
- Penalties For Underage DUI Charges in DC
Underage DUIs in DC
In the DC, the law holds that if someone is under the age of 21 then it is unlawful to operate a motor vehicle with any alcohol in their system. The thought being since it is unlawful for them to be drinking at all, then they certainly should not be drinking and driving. So the law does not require the state proves the same level of impairment as they do with an adult. A DC underage DUI lawyer will understand these differences and how they may impact the case.
If someone under the age of 21 is contacted by law enforcement when they are in physical control of the vehicle and the officer believes that the person may have been drinking, then the officer may give them a chemical test- usually a Breathalyzer– to determine whether or not there is any alcohol present. If there is, then by law the person can be convicted of a DUI.
BAC Threshold
With an adult, if their blood alcohol content is .08 or above, then the law deems them to be impaired and therefore guilty of a DWI. But, there is a presumption that for .05 and above that the person is impaired but not deemed to be statutorily impaired. With an individual under the age of 21, any alcohol is deemed to be unlawful, so they do not have to prove the impairment.
With that said, if the individual is under 21 and does have a blood alcohol content that’s at a certain level, in DC it is .20 or above, then they face the same enhanced penalty as an anybody who is over 21 years old. This means that at .20, an individual faces a mandatory ten days minimum in jail and individuals under the age of 21 can still face that enhanced penalty even though they do not need to have a .08 or above BAC to be charged with a DUI. For more information on enhanced penalties and what this could mean for an underage driver, contact a DC underage DUI lawyer.
DC Underage DUI Lawyer
A DUI attorney will know what the government is looking for, what the government is going to do, what the evidence needs to be, what the evidence will look like in the case going forward, and what the government is going to try to use to convict my client. A DC underage DUI lawyer will know the process.
Additionally, a DC attorney who knows all the prosecutors who handle DUIs in DC, and knows the judges and their clerks can be a huge advantage. Knowing all the aspects of the DUI process, and where the most work can yield the best results is also important. That’s why it is critical for anyone who is charged with a crime to hire an attorney.
If they are charged with a crime in the DC, then they want to hire an attorney who practices regularly in DC and who handles the specific type of case that defendant has. So, if an individual is charged with an underage DUI in DC, you want to hire an attorney who specifically handles underage DUI cases in DC.