Los Angeles Under 21 Drunk Driving Defense Lawyers

Under 21 DUIs

If you are under the legal drinking age of 21 and have been charged with a DUI in California, you should contact Los Angeles underage drunk driving defense attorney Lawrence Wolf at the Law Offices of Lawrence Wolf immediately. Mr. Wolf has extensive knowledge in the area of California drunk driving law, including those laws pertaining to drivers under 21 years old, which differ greatly from laws for drivers over 21. Your arrest is dependent upon claims made by law enforcement, but your freedom depends upon the Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer that you hire.

While drivers over the age of 21 can be charged with a DUI if their BAC is 0.08 or higher, drivers under the age of 21 who have a blood alcohol content of 0.01 or greater can be charged with drunk driving. This means, that if you are under 21 and drink one alcoholic beverage and get pulled over, you can be arrested for drunk driving and may have to suffer serious consequences such as monetary fines and/or incarceration. These and other rules affecting drivers charged with drunk driving who are under 21 are part of California’s "Zero Tolerance Law."

Keep in mind that, although there are special laws for you, as compared to those for drivers over 21, you still have the same constitutional rights. Therefore if you are pulled over, you still need to give the officer your name, address, and driver’s license; however, you may politely decline answering their questions. These questions may concern what you had to drink prior to driving, who you were with, and where you have been.

California DUI laws are extremely strict for drivers who are under the age of 21. Article 1.3 of Chapter 12 of Division 11 of the California Vehicle Code, states that:

23136. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 23152 and 23153, it is unlawful for a person under the age of 21 years who has a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.01 percent or greater, as measured by a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical test, to drive a vehicle. However, this section shall not be a bar to prosecution under Section 23152 or 23153 or any other provision of law.

(b) A person shall be found to be in violation of subdivision (a) if the person was, at the time of driving, under the age of 21 years, and the trier of fact finds that the person had consumed an alcoholic beverage and was driving a vehicle with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.01 percent or greater, as measured by a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical test.

(c) (1) Any person under the age of 21 years who drives a motor vehicle is deemed to have given his or her consent to a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical test for the purpose of determining the presence of alcohol in the person, if lawfully detained for an alleged violation of subdivision (a).

(2) The testing shall be incidental to a lawful detention and administered at the direction of a peace officer having reasonable cause to believe the person was driving a motor vehicle in violation of subdivision (a).

(3) The person shall be told that his or her failure to submit to, or the failure to complete, a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical test as requested will result in the suspension or revocation of the person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle for a period of one year to three years, as provided in Section 13353.1.

The Law Offices of Lawrence Wolf have been helping individuals charged with drunk driving crimes for over 30 years. Mr. Wolf has both prosecuted and defended thousands of adults and juveniles charged with DUI, license suspension, drunk driving, driving while intoxicated and vehicular manslaughter crimes. California underage DUI defense attorney Lawrence Wolf has been a pioneer in developing all forms of alternative sentencing such as house arrest and diversionary programs. He has established relationships with Judges and District Attorneys throughout Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura Counties.