Juvenile DUI

Juvenile DUI

In Florida, there is zero tolerance for minors who are caught with alcohol or who have a suspected juvenile DUI. There is even less tolerance for people who are of legal age to be with the minors and who are suspected of supplying them with the alcohol. The DUI charges might be the first for everyone involved, but they will be harsher for everyone because there is minors involved in the setting. Arrests will be made for people who supply the minors with alcohol and for other people in the vehicle who are minors and who are under the influence of alcohol.

Juvenile DUI Limits

• The impairment level is .08 for legal adults to drink, but when a minor is caught with alcohol and blows a .02 or higher, they are considered to have a DUI. The first time a person under 21 is pulled over, they will have to take a breathalyzer test. When this test registers anything over a .02, they are given a six month driving suspension.

Juvenile DUI and Refusing a Breathalyzer

• Refusing a breathalyzer test when you are a minor will get you automatic suspensions as well. For the person suspected of their first DUI, refusing the test will land you a one year automatic suspension. If you already have one conviction on your record and are pulled over a second time before you are 21, then it will be an automatic 18 month suspension if you refuse a breath test in Florida.

• For persons under age 21 that have a second DUI arrest, if they blow over a .02 they are given an automatic one year suspension. Even though they are under 21, persons who have been arrested for a juvenile DUI still have the same ten day window to file a petition to have their driver’s license given back to them. The person needs to hire a lawyer to process the paperwork so the court receives it within the ten day window. If they do not receive it in ten days, then the driver’s license will remain suspended and there will be a lot more paperwork and expense involved in getting it back.

• Depending on if you are convicted or not, the juvenile DUI will likely remain on your driving record once you cross 21 and become legal to drink. The time when it happened is not erased, therefore if you have subsequent DUIs on your record within a few years, then it does not matter if you were legal or a minor when you received them. A fourth DUI offense will be treated as a felony charge, as if it would had all of the DUIs been given after the person had reached a legal age in which to drink.

A Florida juvenile DUI attorney will be able to fight the charges in court for you. There are a lot of processes that need to be followed in order for the arrests to be legal and for the charges to be upheld in court. A lawyer will be able to consult with you on all of your options to ensure a better future for yourself.