When a teenager is arrested for drinking and driving, the case usually goes to juvenile court rather than adult criminal court. Many states set a lower alcohol limit for young drivers than for adults, and California's limit for drivers under 21 is among the lowest. A juvenile case can still lead to probation, license consequences and a record that is not sealed on its own.
Most parents facing this got a phone call from a police station or juvenile hall and now have a short list of urgent questions. Will my child come home tonight? Is this a crime? Will it follow them to college? This page explains how an underage DUI moves through juvenile court, what the license side involves, and what can happen to the record afterward. California is used as the worked example throughout. Each state writes its own rules, so California's rules apply only in California.
What a Juvenile DUI Charge Actually Means
A juvenile DUI is an allegation that a minor drove after drinking. A minor's case usually does not start with a criminal complaint. It starts with a petition, which is the document filed in juvenile court that states what the minor is accused of doing. If the court finds the allegation true, that finding is an adjudication, not a conviction. The result the court then orders is a disposition, not a sentence. Federal juvenile justice materials describe the same difference: juvenile court adjudicates a youth delinquent, while criminal court convicts and sentences (OJJDP Case Flow Diagram).
Many states apply a separate, lower alcohol limit to young drivers, often called a zero-tolerance limit. California has two rules for drivers under 21. Under Cal. Veh. Code § 23136, it is unlawful for a person under 21 with 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. Under Cal. Veh. Code § 23140, it is unlawful for a person under 21 to drive with 0.05 percent or more of alcohol in the blood. Other states set their own thresholds.
The age range a juvenile court covers also differs by state. A juvenile defense attorney looks first at which court has the case and under which state's rules.
How Juvenile Court Handles an Underage DUI Case
The OJJDP notes that each state processes cases in its own way, and that practice can vary even between counties. Most cases still pass through the same series of decision points.
Arrest or citation and intake. Police may release the minor, divert the case or refer it to juvenile court. At intake, the probation department or the prosecutor decides whether to dismiss the case, handle it informally or ask the court for formal action.
Diversion. Diversion is a way of resolving a case without a formal adjudication. It usually comes with conditions. The OJJDP describes informal handling in which a youth agrees to conditions for a set period. Those conditions can include counseling, school attendance or a curfew. In most places this option is offered only if the youth admits the act. If the youth complies, the case is dismissed. California's sealing law, Welf. & Inst. Code § 786, refers to an informal program of supervision.
Detention. In California, a probation officer who receives a minor must immediately release the minor to a parent, guardian or responsible relative under Welf. & Inst. Code § 628. The exception is when continuing in the home is contrary to the minor's welfare and at least one of these applies: detention is urgently necessary to protect the minor, or reasonably necessary to protect another person or their property; the minor is likely to flee; or the minor has violated a juvenile court order. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 631, a minor generally must be released within 48 hours, excluding nonjudicial days, unless a petition or criminal complaint is filed within that time.
If the minor is still held, Welf. & Inst. Code § 632 requires a detention hearing, which is a hearing on whether the minor stays in custody. It must take place before the end of the next judicial day after the petition is filed. A shorter rule applies to certain nonviolent misdemeanor arrests made without a warrant. At the hearing, Welf. & Inst. Code § 635 requires the court to release the minor unless grounds similar to those in § 628 are shown. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 636, a detention order lasts no more than 15 judicial days. The court must give a minor equal consideration for release on home supervision, with or without electronic monitoring, whether or not the minor lives in the county where the offense occurred.
Jurisdiction hearing and disposition. The jurisdiction hearing, also called an adjudication hearing, is juvenile court's version of a trial. If the petition is sustained, the court may declare the minor a ward of the court, meaning the minor is placed under the court's ongoing supervision. At the disposition hearing, the court may order probation, which is supervision in the community with conditions. Other possible outcomes include counseling, restitution or residential placement, depending on the facts.
A juvenile criminal defense attorney takes part at each of these stages. How public the proceedings are depends on state law and on the offense.
Driver's License Consequences and Zero-Tolerance Laws
The license often matters as much to a family as the court date does. A driving case can carry license consequences that are separate from anything the juvenile court orders. Depending on the state, those consequences may come through the state's motor vehicle agency, on their own track and on their own timeline.
Many states also have implied-consent rules, which treat a driver as having agreed to a chemical test. Under these rules, refusing a test can bring license consequences of its own. In California, the test results named in Cal. Veh. Code § 23136 come from a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical test. That means the result itself can become an issue in the case.
The length of any suspension, the hearing process and the deadlines for requesting a hearing are set by rules this page does not cover. Those rules differ between states. A family can therefore face a court case and a license matter at the same time, with different dates for each.
Longer-Term Consequences of a Juvenile DUI Adjudication
A juvenile record does not disappear at 18. In California, sealing depends on how the case ended and on what the court finds.
Sealing on completion. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 786, the court must dismiss the petition and seal the records if the person satisfactorily completes one of three things: an informal program of supervision, probation under § 725, or a term of probation for any offense. Completion counts as satisfactory if, during the supervision period, the person had no new finding of wardship and no conviction for a felony or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, and did not fail to substantially comply with reasonable orders within their capacity to perform. Once the petition is dismissed, the arrest and proceedings are deemed not to have occurred. There is one exception, in § 786(d). The court may not seal or dismiss under § 786 if the petition was sustained on an offense listed in Welf. & Inst. Code § 707(b) that was committed at age 14 or older. That exception does not apply if the finding was dismissed, or was reduced to a misdemeanor or to a lesser offense not listed in § 707(b).
Sealing by petition. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 781, a person or the probation officer may ask the court to seal the records. The request can be made five years or more after juvenile court jurisdiction ends, or at any time after the person turns 18. The court orders sealing only if it finds that the person has not been convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude since jurisdiction ended, and that rehabilitation has been attained to the court's satisfaction. For a § 707(b) offense committed at 14 or older that resulted in wardship, a petition may be filed or considered only in the circumstances § 781 lists.
An adjudication is not a criminal conviction. Until a record is sealed, though, it can still exist where background checks look. School discipline, college admissions, financial aid and employment consequences can follow a juvenile case, depending on the facts and on rules this page does not cover. The site's pages on juvenile charges and school and on juvenile charges and immigration say more. Immigration consequences are governed by immigration law this page does not cover.
What a Juvenile Defense Attorney Does in a DUI Case
A juvenile defense attorney starts with the record of what happened. That includes why the car was stopped, how and when the alcohol test was given, how the minor was questioned, and whether police, probation and the court followed each required step.
Questioning is an area where California has a specific rule. Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 625.6, before a custodial interrogation, and before any waiver of Miranda rights, a youth 17 years of age or younger must consult with legal counsel in person, by telephone or by video conference. The statute says this consultation may not be waived. When deciding whether a statement can be used, the court must consider any failure to follow the rule. The rule does not apply in two situations. The first is when an officer reasonably believed the information was necessary to protect life or property from an imminent threat and asked only the questions reasonably necessary to get it. The second is when a probation officer is performing certain normal duties.
An attorney for a minor charged with a crime also looks at whether diversion is available, which disposition options the court may consider, and how each possible result would affect sealing later. This page covers the general framework only. Specific defenses and outcomes depend on the facts of the individual case and on the law of the state where the case is filed.
How Juvenile DUI Law Varies by State
Every part of this subject is state law. Alcohol thresholds for young drivers, the ages juvenile court covers, diversion, license rules and sealing all vary. The OJJDP notes that in all states a detention hearing must be held within a time set by statute, generally within 24 hours. The OJJDP also notes that in many states, prosecutors are required to file certain serious cases involving youth in criminal court, or may choose between juvenile and adult court.
California handles transfer to adult court through Welf. & Inst. Code § 707. A prosecutor may move to transfer a minor in two situations. The first is a § 707(b) offense or any other felony alleged to have been committed when the minor was 16 or older. The second is a § 707(b) offense committed at 14 or 15 by someone not apprehended before juvenile court jurisdiction ended. The court then orders a probation report and holds a transfer hearing. It may order transfer only if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the minor is not amenable to rehabilitation while under juvenile court jurisdiction. Whether a DUI allegation is a felony depends on the specific charge.
The same transfer rules govern other offenses, including juvenile drug charges and juvenile weapons charges. Parents searching for a juvenile DUI lawyer are looking for someone who works with the law of the state where their child's case is filed.
Talking With a Juvenile Defense Attorney About Your Child's DUI Case
An underage DUI can involve two tracks at once: a juvenile court case and a separate license matter, each with its own dates. A consultation can cover the petition or citation, whether the child is detained, which hearing comes next and what the court decides at it, and how the case stage relates to sealing later. This page does not cover defenses for a specific case or the rules of states other than California in detail.
To discuss a case like this with our juvenile defense attorney, request a consultation about a child's juvenile case through Juvenile Justice Defense Group.