Two different charges, and they are not the same
Parents call me confused about this constantly, and the confusion matters because the two charges carry very different consequences.
DUI by a minor under the Alcoholic Beverage Code applies when a driver under twenty one has any detectable alcohol in their system. First offense is a Class C misdemeanor: a fine, community service, an alcohol awareness course, and a license suspension. No jail.
DWI under the Penal Code applies to anyone, including a minor, who has lost the normal use of their faculties or who is at 0.08 or above. That is a Class B misdemeanor and it carries jail exposure.
Which one gets filed in Orange County depends on the facts and on the prosecutor. Getting the more serious charge reduced to the less serious one is often the whole ballgame.
Why the record matters more than the punishment
The fine on a first Class C is not what hurts. What hurts is what shows up later:
- College applications and campus conduct offices
- Scholarship eligibility, including some athletic and merit awards
- Military enlistment and security clearance screening
- Nursing, teaching, aviation, and other licensing boards years down the road
- Auto insurance rates for the family policy
- Commercial driving eligibility
Texas has an expunction path for some underage alcohol offenses once the person turns twenty one, and deferred disposition can keep a conviction from ever entering. Both depend on handling the case correctly the first time. A quick guilty plea at the JP court to make it go away is the mistake I see most often.
Related charges that travel with these cases
Minor in possession, minor in consumption, possession of an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle, and use of a fake ID often get filed alongside. Each one is separately expungeable or not, and each one needs its own plan. I handle them together.
If a controlled substance is also involved, see drug possession defense in Orange.
Questions people ask
Will my child go to jail for a first underage DUI?
Not for a first offense DUI by a minor. It is a Class C misdemeanor with no jail. A DWI charge is different and does carry jail exposure, which is why the charge that gets filed matters so much.
Can an underage DUI be removed from the record?
Often yes. Texas allows expunction of certain minor alcohol offenses after the person turns twenty one, if the case was handled in a way that preserves that option. Deferred disposition can also prevent a conviction from being entered at all.
Should my child just plead guilty and pay the fine?
Almost never without talking to a lawyer first. The plea is cheap today and expensive in five years when a licensing board or an enlistment officer runs the record.