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What is the Legal Definition of Underage Drinking and Driving Under VC 23136?

While alcohol is legal, this substance can reduce your physical coordination and mental ability to drive like a cautious and sober driver would under the same circumstances. One mistake on the road will likely cause a severe auto accident, especially if you are under the influence of alcohol.

That is why the legal justice system is stringent in curbing impaired driving cases on our roadways. Generally, it is illegal for drivers to drive if their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is 0.08% or above. However, this rule does not apply to people aged 21 years or below.

If you are below this age, driving with any measurable BAC could land you in trouble with the law, and you could lose your driver's license upon conviction. Read on for more information on underage drunk driving offenses.

Understanding Underage Drunk Driving Offense Under VC 23136

Also known as zero tolerance law, Vehicle Code (VC) 23136 makes it unlawful for anyone below twenty-one (21) years of age to drive with a BAC of 0.01% or above after drinking an alcoholic beverage. Even if you are not impaired, the police can arrest you for VC 23136 violation if you have any detectable or measurable alcohol in your blood system.

The enactment of VC 23136 occurred in 1994 to curb the issue of underage operating vehicles while under the influence. For the sake of this statute, you could be guilty of the alleged VC 23136 violation even if the alcohol in your blood system was from another source apart from an alcoholic beverage.

For instance, this law would apply to your case if the alcohol in your blood system was from any of the following possible sources:

  • Medicine like cough syrups.
  • Topical mouth anesthetic ointments.

How an Arrest for VC 23136 Violation Occurs

In most cases, an arrest for VC 23136 violation will occur at a DUI sobriety checkpoint when a police officer detects that you could be impaired driving. Some of the acts that could give the officer a reasonable suspicion that you could be impaired driving include:

  • Swerving on the road.
  • Improper lane changing.
  • Making sudden stops while driving.
  • A broken headlight.

If an officer at the sobriety checkpoint has a reasonable suspicion that you could be impaired driving, he/she will point your vehicle to stop for a speedy DUI investigation. Unless the officer strongly believes you could be impaired driving, this investigation should not take more than five minutes of your time.

To determine whether you were drunk driving, the officer will require you to take a PAS (preliminary alcohol screening) test, which involves blowing a hand-held device known as a breathalyzer. The breathalyzer uses your breath vapor to determine whether you have alcohol in your blood system.

If the officers detect any measurable amount of alcohol in your system, they will arrest you and drive you to their station for the booking process. At the station, the officer could also require you to take a chemical blood or urine test for more accurate results of your BAC, especially if it is at 0.05 percent or above.

It is worth noting that refusing the PAS test or chemical test after your arrest is an aggravating factor that could negatively impact the case's outcome. While most drivers can lawfully refuse a PAS test, underage drivers (drivers aged 21 years and below) are legally obligated to consent to this roadside test.

After the booking process and the chemical test, if necessary, the officer could allow you to go home with a citation to appear in court at a later date or will send you to jail pending your case's arraignment hearing.

Whether the arresting officers will release you to go home or hold you in custody after an arrest for the alleged VC 23136 violation case will depend on your criminal record and the unique case's facts.

Potential Consequences of Charges for a VC 23136 Violation

While VC 23136 violation is not a crime, an arrest for this offense could affect your driving privileges if the DMV finds the allegations to be true. Like any other DUI offense, you should contact the DMV (department of motor vehicles) within not more than ten days of your arrest and schedule a hearing to convince them you deserve to retain your driving privileges.

If not, the DMV will automatically suspend your license after 30 days of your arrest. For that reason, it is wise to retain the services of an attorney if you are under investigation or arrest for an alleged underage drinking DUI offense for the best desirable outcome in your case.

Since VC 23136 violation is a civil matter, there are no fines or jail time if you are guilty. However, your driver's license is subject to suspension for the following listed period:

  • Up to one (1) year if it is your first-time offense.
  • Up to three (3) years if you are a repeat offender or you did refuse the roadside PAS test.

However, if your BAC was between 0.05% and 0.07%, your case will turn into an infraction, carrying the following potential penalties upon conviction in the criminal court under VC 23140:

  • A fine not exceeding $100 if you are a first-time offender.
  • One-year driver's suspension if you are a first-time offender.
  • Mandatory enrolment in an alcohol education program for a minimum of three months for drivers aged between 18 and 21.

How to Obtain a Restricted Hardship License After Losing the DMV Hearing for the Alleged VC 23136 Offense

When you lose the DMV hearing, meaning your driver’s license suspension will immediately go into effect, you can request a restricted license to retain your driving privileges. One of the main benefits of obtaining this restricted license is that you can drive to and from work or school using it before your DL suspension period expiry date.

However, if you refuse to take the roadside PAS test before your arrest, you will be ineligible for the restricted license to ease your movements once the DMV suspends your driver's license. Before you obtain this restricted license, you must wait for up to 30 days after your driver's license suspension by the DMV.

Is There a Plea Bargain Option for the Alleged VC 23136 Violation?

A plea bargain option could be available for the alleged VC 23136 offense. If the prosecutor gives you a plea bargain offer during the arraignment hearing, it would be in your best interest to accept it. Typically, a plea bargain offer allows you to settle the alleged underage DUI charge by agreeing to a lighter or reduced charge with less severe consequences.

If a plea bargain offer is available in your case, your defense attorney can help you decide whether to accept it. Your DUI attorney will review your case's unique facts to help you make an informed and wise decision regarding the available plea bargain offer.

If the consequences of accepting this plea offer are not how you would like the case to end, you can reject it and challenge the underlying VC 23136 offense for the best possible outcome.

How to Challenge the DMV License Suspension for the Alleged VC 23136 Offense

There are numerous ways a skilled DUI attorney can challenge the alleged DUI offense to prevent the suspension of your driver's license during the DMV hearing. The most common and viable defenses that could convince the DMV you deserve to retain your driving privileges after an arrest for the alleged VC 23136 offense include the following:

  1. Your BAC Test Results Were Inaccurate

The BAC test results detected by the breathalyzer after a traffic stop are not always reliable and accurate, especially when measuring whether a suspected impaired driver has a 0.01% BAC level. Your DUI attorney can challenge your BAC test results to beat the alleged underage DUI charge by arguing other innocent reasons that could have led to the positive BAC level detected, for example:

  • Mouth alcohol.
  • Faulty breathalyzer.
  1. You Were Not Driving

"No driving" is an applicable defense in most DUI cases. If you were resting on a parked vehicle, you could not be guilty of the alleged VC 23136 offense, even if you were impaired or under the influence at that time.

  1. Your Arrest Was Unlawful

The police must have probable cause before arresting any driver suspected of impaired driving. A mere suspicion that you could be impaired while driving is not enough for an officer to arrest and detain you. For instance, driving erratically or braking your vehicle suddenly does not count as probable cause to arrest a driver on the suspicion that he/she was impaired.

A reliable and seasoned attorney will know the best applicable argument to back up this legal defense during the DMV administrative hearing for the best possible outcome on the alleged charge.

  1. The Officers Did Not Inform You of Your Miranda Rights

As a legal requirement, the arresting officers must inform an alleged culprit in any offense about his/her Miranda rights before questioning him/her upon an arrest. Here are examples of your Miranda rights:

  • Right to remain or stay silent.
  • Right to stop answering the officer's questions whenever you want.

If the arresting officer did not read the above Miranda warnings to you, some of the information they received from you could be inadmissible during the DMV administrative hearing. That means the information you disclosed to them cannot be used against you, increasing your chances of winning the alleged underage DUI case.

  1. You are not an Underage

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, "zero tolerance" DUI laws under VC 23136 apply to drivers aged 21 years and below. Hence, you could evade the citation for the alleged VC 23136 violation charge if you are above this age limit.

However, the prosecutor can still charge you with a standard adult DUI charge under VC 23152(a), which prohibits drunk driving. That is true even if your BAC was not above the legal limit of 0.08%. A reliable attorney will review the facts of the alleged underage DUI case to know whether this defense argument could work in your favor during the DMV administrative hearing for the best possible outcome.

Offenses Related to the Alleged VC 23136 Violation Charge

Instead of or in addition to the alleged underage DUI charge, the prosecutor could pursue several other DUI-related offenses against you after an arrest on the suspicion that you were impaired driving. Some of these offenses include (but are not limited to):

Drunk Driving Under VC 23152(a)

According to VC 23152(a), it is unlawful to drive under the influence of alcohol (drunk driving). VC 23152(a) could apply to your case if the prosecutor can prove that you did not have the mental and physical ability to drive like a cautious sober driver because you were under the influence of alcohol.

A conviction for a drunk driving offense under this statute will attract the following penalties for first-time offenders:

  • Up to a $1000 fine.
  • 6-month driver's license suspension.
  • Attend a DUI school.
  • A jail term of not more than six (6) months.
  • 3 to 5 years of informal or summary probation.

Alcohol in a Vehicle by an Underage Under Vehicle Code 23224

VC 23224 makes it unlawful for an underage person (a person aged below 21 years) to drive a vehicle containing alcohol. In simple words, this statute could apply to your case if you had alcohol in your possession while driving, as long as you are 21 years of age or younger. Below are examples of instances that could attract charges under VC 23224:

  • A 19-year-old boy driving with a can of alcohol in his/her car backseat.
  • A minor (under 18) driving with a liquor flask in his/her vehicle's glove box.

Typically, a violation of VC 23224 is chargeable as a misdemeanor offense that could attract the following potential penalties upon a conviction at trial:

  • A fine not exceeding $1,000.
  • Detention in the county jail for not more than six (6) months.

Find a Los Angeles DUI Attorney Near Me

Being under arrest for an alleged DUI offense as an underage driver can be a stressful and confusing experience, especially if you are new to the legal justice system. At Jonathan Franklin DUI Attorney, we understand that more than anyone else.

If you are under arrest in Los Angeles for an alleged underage DUI offense under VC 23136, our skilled and profound DUI attorneys can help you challenge the allegations for the best possible outcome. Call us at 323-464-6700 to discuss the case details with our understanding DUI attorneys.

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Jonathan Franklin DUI Attorney
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323-464-6700