DUIs are felonies, plain and straightforward. A felony conviction stays on your record and ‘s hard to remove. They follow you around for the rest of your life. Yes, they even negatively impact teenagers. As discussed in a previous post, children are subject to a zero-tolerance alcohol policy. Therefore, any alcohol in their system can subject them to arrest. But all is not lost, if your child is under 18, she may qualify for a diversion program which keeps the felony conviction off their record in exchange for pseudo-probation. This post will go over the rest of the impacts of underage DWI conviction.
If your child is not lucky enough to qualify for the diversion program (or he is over 18 but under 21), then he will be subjected to sentencing. Once convicted, your child’s driver’s license is suspended for the time specified by state law (usually six months to a year for first-time DUI offenders). Additionally, you may even be required to install an ignition interlock device (which the government forces you to pay for).
Additionally, this charge ends up on your record. That means you could be subjected to academic discipline, once your school is notified, and that you must disclose it on job applications, apartment applications, credit applications, and any other application that requires a background check. You can get a conviction removed but only after you meet the requirements for an expungement. In short, if you are over 18 and convicted, you are treated as an adult despite being subjected to zero-tolerance policies that target underage drivers.
If your child was charged with drunk driving, you might want to contact an attorney. As you can see, the impact on their academic career and future graduate school prospects could be negatively affected. A lawyer can ensure that your child presents a vigorous defense that maximizes his chance of avoiding a criminal conviction.
