Houston DWI Attorney

Since 1997, the State of Texas has taken an extremely hard stance against minors using alcohol. These "zero tolerance" laws were enacted with the hopes of curbing underage drinking. Minors can be cited under the new zero tolerance laws for buying or attempting to buy alcohol, transporting, consuming, or even possessing any detectable amount of alcohol in their system. Because of this, if you are stopped for an alcohol-related offense, the law enforcement official is not required to even offer you a breath test. Just the hint of any amount of alcohol on you or on your breath is enough evidence for the officer to either write a citation or arrest you on the spot. The two most common offenses for minors involving are Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Minor in Possession of Alcohol (MIP), and proper education of these two offenses is essential due to the possible adverse effects that these two offenses may have on your driver's license.

Driving Under the Influence

If you are under the age of 21, you are considered a minor for the purposes of the Houston DUI statutes. If you are under 17 years old you can only be charged as a juvenile and must be handled in the juvenile court, though you will still be charged with a DUI. This is where the distinction between DWI and DUI is made: If you are over 21, you are charged with a DWI; if you are under 21, you are charged with a DUI.

The DUI penalties for a minor are as follows:

Class "C" Misdemeanor
A fine of not less than $500.00 or more than $2,000.00
Confinement in jail for a term not to exceed 180 days; or
Both the fine and confinement
Attendance and completion of an alcohol awareness (or related) class. If the minor is under the age of 18, their parent or guardian must attend the class with their dependant.
In addition to the fine and jail time, a minor convicted of DWI/DUI will be required to perform community service under the following guidelines:
- Not less than 20 or more than 40 hours if this is his or her first offense.
- Not less than 40 or more than 60 hours if the minor has been previously convicted of an alcohol-related offense.
- The community service must be related to the education about or prevention of the misuse of alcohol. Note: The alcohol awareness class may NOT count towards the hourly requirements.
In addition to the penalties listed above, the court will order the Department of Public Safety to suspend the license of a convicted minor, or if the minor does not have a license, to withhold the issuance of a license for the following terms:
- 30 days if this is the first offense
- 60 days if this is the second conviction
- 90 days if this is the minor has been convicted two or more times.
The State of Texas only allows deferred adjudication for the first DUI offense, and this conviction will be erased from the minor's record when he or she turns 21 years of age. However, if you receive a second DUI after the first (that was adjudicated), than you will have two DUI's on your record.

Minor in Possession of Alcohol

Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, §724 106.05 provides that a minor, (a person under 21 years of age), commits this offense if he or she possesses an alcoholic beverage in any way, form or fashion. This offense is a Class "C" misdemeanor punished by a fine not to exceed $500.00. However, if a minor has 2 prior convictions, the punishment is a fine of not less than $250.00 or more than $2,000.00 and/or confinement in jail for a term not to exceed 6 months.

The court shall order a convicted minor to perform community service for not less than 8 or more than 12 hours. However, if he has a prior conviction, the community service is not less than 20 hours or more than 40 hours.

The most important aspect of this conviction is the possible effect this may have on one's driving privileges. The court shall order the Department of Public Safety to suspend the minor's driver's license or permit or, if he does not have one, to deny the issuance of one for: 30 days if he has no prior convictions; 60 days if he has one prior conviction; or 6 months if he has 2 prior convictions.

The court shall require a convicted minor who has not been previously convicted to attend an alcohol awareness course approved by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. If he has been previously convicted, the court may require him to attend the course.

There are only two exceptions to this law: A minor may possess alcohol if he is in the visible presence of his adult (over the age of 21 years) parent, guardian, spouse, or other adult to whom he has been committed by a court. A minor may possess alcohol while in the course and scope of his employment if he is an employee of a license or permittee and the employment is not prohibited by this code.

Note: The State of Texas considers pleading "no contest" to an alcohol-related offense as a prior conviction.

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