Orange County Ordinance Aims to Hold Hosts Responsible for Underage DUI
By Attorney Randy Collins
Dec. 17, 2013 12:48p
Do you let your teens drink at family gatherings? If you do and you live in Orange County, California, you could now face hefty fines for a first offense and a misdemeanor on your criminal record if you were cited for repeat offenses. The proposed social ordinance would make it illegal to serve beer or alcohol to minors at gatherings in which three or more people are in a private home.
The ordinance is supposed to be a response to the large number of DUIs that occur at the hands of underage drivers. In 2010, more than 900 minors were convicted of DUI and 150 underage DUI collisions resulted in serious injury or death in Orange County alone. Victims' families joined other supportive organizations to help influence the Orange County Board of Supervisors to have the OC adopt the ordinance county-wide.
The Orange County DUI task force held a press conference at the Irvine Civic Center to show their support for the social host ordinance and discuss the dangers of drunk driving.
Orange County cities that currently have social host ordinances in place include Mission Viejo, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Habra, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, as well as the city of Orange.
If the Orange County Board of Supervisors approves the ordinance today, it must pass a second reading on January 14th, 2013, and would go into effect in March of 2014.
Unlike when an adult is arrested for DUI, an underage DUI arrest is treated differently. A minor who is arrested in the state of California for drunk driving can be charged with one or all of the following criminal offenses: California Vehicle Code 23136 VC, California Vehicle Code 23140 VC, or California Vehicle Code 23152 VC.
All three violations carry different consequences and penalties. For instance, VC 23152 is a misdemeanor offense, VC 23140 is an infraction, and VC 23136 is a civil offense.
VC 23152 applies to underage drunk drivers when their Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) was 0.08% or greater at the time of their arrest. If convicted, the minor defendant could face up to five years of probation, $1,000 in fines, a year in jail, court-ordered classes, and a license suspension.
VC 23140 applies to underage drivers who are found to have a BAC of 0.05% to 0.07% at the time that they are tested. It is an infraction that can result in a monetary fine that increases with each repeat offense.
VC 23136 is also known as California's zero tolerance DUI law and is a civil offense. VC 23136 applies to anyone under the age of 21 with a BAC of 0.01% or greater. Since it is illegal for a minor under the age of 21 to drink and drive, regardless of the amount, VC 23136 violations can result in an automatic one year suspension of the minor defendant's driver's license or a one year delay of the minor defendant's driving privilege if they did not yet have a valid license.
If you or your child are facing DUI charges in Southern California, call 949-250-6097 to speak with a Macgregor & Collins, LLP DUI attorney about your options. They will provide you with a free case evaluation to help you determine what legal options you have available.
Sources:
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Orange-County-Social-Host-Ordinance-Drinking-Driving-DUI-Alcohol-236127761.html
