When we look at the human body and the physiology of people, there is no real difference between somebody who is 20 years old or 21 years old. That’s just a legal number where the legislation said we’re going to make a law that at 21 you can have 0.07 but not a 0.08. If you’re 20 then it’s a 0.05 or a 0.01.
There is no reason for that; the body doesn’t change miraculously overnight. Even if somebody is 18 years old or 17 years old we’re not likely to see the effects of alcohol to the point where it would impair somebody to drive at a 0.05 or a 0.01; a 0.01 is just indicating there is alcohol in the system.
You can have half a drink at 18 years old, read a 0.01 on a breath test machine and have absolutely zero effect in your ability to walk and talk and drive. It’s just an arbitrary number that the lawmakers pulled out of thin air.
An Attorney Will Challenge Both Chemical Test Results and the Validity of the Police Stop, Helping Drivers Under 21 at the California DMV with an Alcohol-Related Charge
If our client is under 21 our toughest battle is usually with the Department of Motor Vehicles. The department wants to take a very bureaucratic analysis of the situation and wants to suspend the license for one year. We really need to show errors on the case that would explain away chemical tests results or invalidate chemical test results.
Alternatively, we question if it was a lawful stop or detention. The DMV takes a very hard stance with someone under 21 having any alcohol in the system. That hearing is very important to defending that case.
If the DMV Finds in Favor of the Driver at the Administrative Hearing, They Set Aside the Suspension and Take No Action against the Driver’s License
With the Department of Motor Vehicles—it is black or white. If they find 0.01 or above, then they’re going to suspend the license for a year; if they don’t, they’ll do what is called a set aside which is akin to a not guilty at the DMV. They won’t take any action at all.
There Are Reinstatement Options If the Under-21 Driver’s License Is Suspended
If the Department of Motor Vehicles does suspend the license for someone who is under 21, there is a couple of options as far as trying to get the license back early. One of them would be application to apply for a critical mid license. Another would be to do a departmental review and have the DMV supervisors review the file.
One other option would be to do a writ, which is basically appealing the DMV decision. If on a regular under 21 DUI, the DMV does suspend the license on a 0.01 hearing, but we can try to take to have the license reissued in less than a year.
For Drivers over the Age of 21, a Low BAC such as the 0.05 Wouldn’t Be Subject to a DUI Charge
A driver over the age of 21 with a 0.05 level is usually a charge we don’t see in court. Usually a district attorney or city attorney’s office knows that they’re not going to be able to prove impairment for purposes of driving if it’s a very low alcohol level. They may reject the case, which would be to not file anything at all or they may make offers that are non-alcohol related offers in a particular case.
If the district attorney gets the case in front of him and the blood alcohol level is at 0.08 or above, then we typically will see a full-blown DUI charge under the vehicle code section 23152. If it’s a 0.08 or above, we normally will see regular criminal DUI charges being brought against the driver.
Personal Attention
