Virginia Beach Juvenile DUI Lawyer

Any type of DUI charge has the potential to impact the rest of someone’s life, including a juvenile DUI. A juvenile DUI charge is treated the same as any other DUI charge. The charge is not lessened or treated differently because the individual is a minor.

An experienced Virginia Beach underage DUI attorney will be able to help a juvenile driver navigate through the charges, advise them on proper course of action, and keep them informed of their rights.

Prosecution of Juvenile DUI in Virginia Beach

The case will be heard in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court instead of the General District Court. That is the only difference on how the case will be handled. The blood alcohol content (BAC) requirements are the same as they would be for someone under 21.

The threshold is 0.02 instead of 0.08 like it would be for an adult DUI. This is what they call a zero tolerance policy. If the driver is underage and has a BAC that is 0.08 or more, then they are charged with an adult DUI.

The sentences for these types of DUI cases are the same as they would be for anyone who is under 21 years of age. The Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court has a strong interest in rehabilitating the people who come in there. Because of this, the judges and prosecutors tend to be a little bit more open to counseling programs and treatment programs than the judges in the General District Court would be.

What Students Should Know

To people charged with a juvenile DUI, a Virginia Beach attorney will ask about the reason for the police officer having stopped them in the first place. The process of defending these cases is the same with a juvenile DUI as it is in adult DUI cases. It doesn’t matter how old somebody is. The process for a juvenile DUI is the same as with an underage DUI as well — the defenses are generally the same with both.

Value of a Virginia Beach Juvenile DUI Lawyer

It is very important to hire an attorney for an underage DUI case in Virginia Beach. At this point, underage individuals are just beginning to have a criminal record timeline. Because of this, they should be doing everything possible to keep this particular charge off their record.

It is definitely a misconception a lot of younger people seem to have that a conviction is not going to matter once somebody becomes an adult. Juvenile charges will remain on somebody’s record either until they turn 19, or until five years have passed since the final hearing, whichever happens to be later.

This means that the conviction could publicly follow them until they are out of college. In the meantime, individuals with this record are applying for jobs and trying to get a good start on their adult life.

The file is not public later on, but it will still be visible to law enforcement, judges, the DMV, probation officers, and other agencies and individuals depending on whether they can receive permission to obtain or look at the file.

If the person commits another crime, then their juvenile record will come into play again. The record does not ever entirely go away and has the potential to have a detrimental effect on somebody in the future, far after the charge has been forgotten. An attorney can help fight the charge and officially have it dismissed.

A dismissal is the ideal situation, but a reduction to something a lot more manageable than a DUI charge is also a benefit. A juvenile DUI attorney can also help with court preparations so that there is the best possibility of getting a good result on the case.

What Parents Should Know About Juvenile DUI Charges

Parents should expect to take the charge seriously. The process of their child’s DUI is almost identical to the process for an adult DUI, except that it is handled in a different court.

They should keep this in mind as a main priority, because DUIs are very serious and the charge will not disappear once their child reaches 18 or 19. They should also know that a conviction can sometimes be avoided with an experienced and aggressive Virginia Beach underage DUI lawyer.