As a parent, you want the best for your child. You even use various resources to educate your child on the consequences of breaking laws. Unfortunately, many young children make mistakes or commit crimes like driving while intoxicated (DWI). When the police arrest your child for DWI, you must fight for their rights and future. The child may even make things worse after their arrest in many cases.
As the guardian or the parent, your advice to the child may help limit the consequences your child could face. Although you might sympathize with your child's position, the criminal court is unlikely to offer them special treatment. Unfortunately, a person under 21 years may face more charges than a person above the lawful drinking age. Thus, if your son or daughter faces a DWI arrest, you want to hire an attorney to represent them in court. The following includes what to do immediately after your child arrest:
Learn the DWI Charges
When it comes to driving while impaired, the law in Texas considers anyone below the age of 21 years a minor or underage. Thus whether your child is below the age of 21, you might hear a crime known as juvenile DUI or minor DUI. But you want to know the actual charges for the crime. Various driving under the influence charges come with different penalties. The punishment for the case will also vary depending on the facts surrounding your child's arrest. Also, the court will consider your child's criminal record before punishing them.
The child might face a class C misdemeanor when they violate the law. The law outlines a minor should not drive a vehicle in public under any detectable alcohol amount in their system. Note the offense is less serious than the traditional DWI. When your child is charged with a Class C misdemeanor, they will not have an automatic jail term. As a parent, you might pay a fine not exceeding $500. The court will also suspend the driver's license for 180 days. Also, the child will engage in community service for around forty hours.
Your child will be more likely to face the DWI charges when they have any detectable amounts of alcohol in their body. When the law officer discovers the child has 0.08 percent of alcohol content or above, they will face charges for the offense. Alternatively, a class B misdemeanor DWI offense will carry a fine not exceeding $2000. Also, the court will suspend the driver's license; they might also remain in jail for up to six months.
Contact a DWI Defense Attorney for Your Child
The most critical step you want to take after your child's arrest is to contact a skilled attorney. The worst thing you can do is hire an attorney with little understanding of DWI laws. However, an experienced lawyer will offer valuable insight and experience on how to handle your child's case. Remember the recollection of your child's case might fade over time and make it essential to discuss the arrest with your lawyer immediately.
Taking quick action to find an attorney may help you protect the child's rights. Remember, you only have fifteen days after your child's arrest to the state's automatic license suspension. The court applies after the DWI arrest; your attorney will provide legal help in contesting the license suspension. Once you request a hearing, the automatic license suspension will not be automatic anymore. Please discuss everything about the child's arrest with the attorney to give them time to develop a defense based on their circumstances.
Advise the Child to Remain Silent
When law enforcement officers arrest your child over a DWI offense, you are likely to be the first person to receive their call. Many adolescents will turn to their guardians or parents for help when similar. Thus the first piece of advice you want to give the child is to remain calm and silent as you organize for their attorney.
For the child to revoke the right to stay calm, they should inform the police they will not answer any question until their lawyer arrives. Again advise the child not to become aggressive or argue with the law enforcement officers. The courts in Texas resolve DWI cases after an arrest. You might also seek advice from the child's attorney on when the child should speak with the arresting officers.
Arrange for the Release of Your Child
Every arrest is unique, and the court will handle it differently. Sometimes you may learn of your child's arrest immediately after the police release them. In other situations, the arresting officers might notify you later about the child's arrest while they are still in the detention facility. In many cases involving a child below the age of fourteen, the law enforcement officers will communicate with you to ensure you arrange for the child's release with a notice to appear at future court proceedings.
In other cases, the police will hold the child in the detention facility until they sober up. An experienced criminal defense attorney will be able to secure your child's release immediately after their arrest. However, when you choose to work without the legal help of an attorney, you might find the situation challenging.
Advice the Child to Refuse Chemical Test
In almost all DWI cases, the arresting officers will offer you or your child a blood or breath test. The results obtained from these tests are usually more accurate when compared to the roadside tests, making it difficult to challenge the criminal court. Although the law requires your child to perform these tests, they can also refuse.
However, guide the child to refuse the tests since they might incriminate later. Refusal to submit for the tests will mean an automatic driver's license suspension. Remember, not all tests will produce accurate results. If you have any disturbing questions about the tests, you may seek legal help from your child's attorney.
Collect Sufficient Evidence
Like any other criminal offense, evidence is key to fighting for the child's rights. Evidence can help your child's attorney convince the court to drop the charges or reduce the case to a minor offense. Thus, your attorney may help the child provide evidence to show they were not drunk when the police arrested them. Let your child inform the criminal defense attorney about their activities before the arrest. The attorney will gather enough evidence to fight the charges by doing so.
As a Parent or Guardian to the Child, Remain Calm
Although it might sound simple, you will never benefit from panicking. To remain calm may be easier said than done. The fact is panicking might even worsen your situation and lead to harsh consequences. The prosecution team in the child's case will only benefit when you seek to handle the case right away. So when you remain calm, you will improve the child's lawful rights and improve the chances of winning the case.
Take Notes
All information about the arrest of your child will be critical. In several cases, you will receive the information via your phone. So, you want to observe or take careful notes regarding the place of your child's arrest, the responsible arresting officers, and the potential formal charges for the case.
If the arresting officers indicate any future court dates, you also want to consider them. Since a DWI charge is serious, missing the court dates might worsen your child's situation. You also want to share any provided information with your DWI attorney. Sometimes, you might use the provided information as the basis to fight for your child's rights.
Talk to Witnesses
Depending on the nature of the DWI case, the district attorney should issue you with a police report once you request it. Now the report will become the starting point for your investigations. The law enforcement officers want to prove the case. Thus, law enforcement officers may outline what they think will favor them. Also, you cannot count on law enforcement officers to build a defense for your child. So, contacting your investigation through talking to the witnesses will be essential when fighting for your child's rights.
Request For The Pieces Of Evidence
Its true discovery becomes the critical aspect in all DWI cases. It's your right to become aware of the evidence against your child. But the district attorney cannot volunteer the information. You have several ways to collect evidence, like serving a discovery demand. Gathering sufficient evidence will help know where the child's case is weak, and thus you will fight the charge.
Advice Your Child not to Admit Being Guilty of DWI
The child should not admit guilt in any way. So, the child should only admit guilt when their criminal defense attorney has guided them to do so to gain a reduction in their charges. Otherwise, from their arrest until trial, the child should not admit guilt. Remember, when your child accepts responsibility for the crime, they will become responsible for the consequences of their actions.
Start Working on Your Child's Case Immediately
The timeline to fight your child's DWI case might be strict. The law might require you as the parent to appear before the court within a short frame of time, usually hours or a day after your child's arrest. For example, when you want to contest the automatic suspension of the driver's license, you will only have 15 days from the date of your child's arrest. Remember, time lost translates to case lost. Thus it would help if you worked fast to develop a solid defense. The earlier you start working on the case, the easier you will fight the charges.
Believe You Can Fight the DWI Charge
Don't let the law enforcement officers believe you can't fight the DWI charges for your child. Remember, the final judgment will come from the judge and not the police. The opinion of the law enforcement officers will only remain an opinion. Thus have the mindset that you can fight your child's charges. Hire a competent DWI attorney for your child, and they will help you have a smooth legal process.
Advice the Child to Respect the Authorities
When dealing with law enforcement officers or other authorities, the child must be respectful. Thus advise the child not to cause conflict or argue. Remember disobeying the authorities might trigger severe consequences to the child. As a parent, accompany your child during the future court dates as ordered respectfully. That involves dressing well and presenting yourself in a dignified manner.
However, remaining cooperative and respectful with the authorities doesn't mean you talk much. You indeed have the right to remain silent to the authorities during the arrest or even after the arrest since what your child says might be used against them later. This advises the child not to admit they have consumed any amount of alcohol.
Advice the Child not to Discuss the Case with Anyone
As the child's attorney advised them, they should not discuss the DWI arrest with anyone. The child should not refer to the case on social media for the general public to view. If the child wants to share any information regarding their arrest, they should first seek legal help from the criminal defense attorney.
Keep Your Own Counsel
When the police arrest your child over a DWI charge, the situation might be challenging, especially when it's your first encounter. The situation will even be more overwhelming to your child arrested over a DWI charge. You might experience a feeling of embarrassment or fear. Sometimes you might even be tempted to confide in people near you. It's in your child's interest to stay calm and keep their own counsel.
The police are on their duty, and they will not even bother to give the child advice or assist them throughout the legal process. The arresting officers will book the child into their system as soon as they arrest them. Police aren't friends with your child. Remember, many police vehicles are well wired, and thus the child should remain silent.
Don't Drive with a Suspended License
The court will always suspend the driver's license for the suspects pulled over driving while paired. Thus as a parent, you must obey this law and ensure you don't drive the vehicle in any situation while the license is suspended. But as discussed above, you may contest the license suspension within 15 days of your child's arrest.
Discuss the case with your DWI attorney, and they will help you contest the license suspension in a hearing. Remember driving with a suspended driver's license will worsen your case. For instance, you will face additional charges. Thus obey the law or seek legal advice from your attorney before you do anything.
Request for Administrative License Suspension or Revocation Hearing
When the police stop your child and charge them with a DWI charge, they should remain calm, refuse the breathalyzer tests and field sobriety tests. As soon as your child is arrested for the DWI case, the department of public safety in texas will take action against the driver's license whether your child submitted for the tests or not. When the child refuses to engage in the tests, the police officers will more likely confiscate their physical driver's license and issue a notice for their vehicle license suspension.
The license suspension notice informs your child's right to request an administrative license revocation hearing which serves as a temporary driver's permit for up to forty days. After your child's arrest, you need to file an administrative license suspension hearing with the help of your attorney.
As a Parent, be Honest to the Child's Lawyer
You first need to listen to your child's story. When your child is questioned, you should know whether they are under investigation for an offense. In a few cases, the police will inform the parent, but not in other cases. Instead, you may have the child's attorney contact the arresting officers and ask them.
You want to resist the temptation to do all these yourself. Many parents hurt their children's cases, for instance, by inadvertently waiving rights. As the guardian or parent to the child, you have higher chances to persuade your child to say incriminating information. Many parents will tell their children to tell the truth. Thus the child will say anything to please their parents or the police. So, you want to send a lawyer to the child even if you are present or walk into custody with them.
Find a Fort Worth DWI Attorney Near Me
An arrest for a DWI might carry harsh consequences for your child. However, an experienced DWI lawyer can help your child facing a DWI charge avoid serious consequences. Your child has a right to a skilled lawyer who could help prevent a DWI conviction or have the charges lowered.
At Fort Worth DWI Defense Lawyer, we understand how challenging having a DWI charge for your child can be. When the prosecution team insists on moving forward with the case, our DWI attorneys will negotiate with the judge to reduce the charge to a less serious offense. Call us today at 817-470-2128 and talk with one of our skilled attorneys.
