Alcohol & Drugs: DUI, DWI dwi minor arrested

[skuirrely]

when a minor is arrested for dwi what can the police do without a parent present or even notified that they were arrested? and is it legal to arrest someone for dwi if the officer told that person to get info the vehicle and move it and the minute the person started the vehicle they were hauled out and given a sobriety test. ? if the vehicle is started but not moved can you be arrested for DWI

 

[Michael Wechsler]

when a minor is arrested for dwi what can the police do without a parent present or even notified that they were arrested? and is it legal to arrest someone for dwi if the officer told that person to get info the vehicle and move it and the minute the person started the vehicle they were hauled out and given a sobriety test. ? if the vehicle is started but not moved can you be arrested for DWI

Just because one is a minor does not mean they must have their parent around to be arrested or charged. It wouldn't make sense and I like to use the "common sense" rule when possible. Think about it. If a minor was drunk, caused an accident and was generally acting in a manner that was "out of control", should the police have to let the minor go because they can't locate the parents? What if the parents were in Bermuda on vacation for a month?

What you might be confusing is the difference between how the law deals with minors in civil transactions with citizens and matters concerning government. A minor can enter into a contract and also rescind the contract while still a minor. Without an adult present, the person who made the contract with the minor has no legal remedy to enforce the contract. The adult usually guarantees the contract's performance as a "guarantor." The State needs no such similar guarantor. The law protects people from all kinds of criminal wrongs, including DWI/DUI, and the laws can be enforced against anyone who operates a motor vehicle, regardless of age. The law will then deal with the differences in how we prosecute and sentence minors and adults in order to recognize the differences in maturity and ability to rehbilitate those who are adults and should know better to conduct themselves lawfully.