What Parents Need to Know If Their Child Is Charged With Underage DUI in Florida

When a child is charged with driving under the influence (DUI) in Florida, it can be one of the most stressful and confusing moments for any parent and child. Whether it's your teen’s first run-in with the law or part of a pattern of risky behavior, an underage DUI charge carries serious legal, educational, and personal consequences.

At Morris Law Firm, we understand that good kids can make poor choices, and we’re here to help your family move forward and give your child the second chance everyone deserves. If you're looking for an underaged DUI lawyer in St. Petersburg, FL, you’ve come to the right place. With a focus in criminal defense, we know what it takes to give our clients the new lease on life they deserve.

Florida’s Zero Tolerance Law and Underage DUI

A DUI at any age is a serious charge, but Florida places a particular emphasis on underage drinking. This is addressed in Florida’s Zero Tolerance laws.

What Is the Zero Tolerance Law  For Drivers Under 21?

In Florida, the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for adult drivers is 0.08%. For drivers under 21, the standard is much stricter. Under the state's Zero Tolerance Law, a BAC of just 0.02% can trigger serious penalties. This low threshold is equivalent to a single drink or even less, depending on body weight.

If a driver under 21 is found with a BAC of 0.02% or more, their license will be immediately suspended for six months, even on a first offense. This is an administrative penalty handled outside of the criminal court system. A second offense results in a one-year suspension.

Refusing to take a breath, urine, or blood test also carries consequences. A first refusal results in a 12-month suspension, while a second refusal leads to an 18-month suspension.

Difference Between Zero Tolerance and Standard DUI Charges

Zero tolerance violations are typically administrative and handled by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). However, minors can still face full criminal DUI charges if their BAC is 0.08% or higher or if law enforcement determines they are impaired to a degree that affects their driving ability. In some cases, a juvenile may even be charged as an adult.

Immediate and Long-Term Consequences of an Underage DUI

The consequences for underage drinking will follow your child well into adulthood. Whether it be for college admissions, sports, job hunting, etc., a DUI charge can follow them for the rest of their life if the right legal help is not acquired. 

License Suspension, Fines, and Other Penalties

An underage DUI charge in Florida can result in a number of fines and penalties including:

Repeat offenses or aggravating factors like causing an accident can lead to harsher sentencing. A skilled underage drinking lawyer will be able to minimize the potential penalties for your child.

Impact on School, Scholarships, and Future Opportunities

A DUI arrest or conviction can affect:

Even if a conviction doesn’t occur, the arrest itself can raise red flags for school and job applications. A DUI will follow an underage drinker into higher education unless they get the right legal team to help give them their life back.

Criminal Record, Insurance, and Employment Issues

A DUI conviction may:

These long-term effects can follow your child into adulthood if the situation isn't handled properly. Dreams can be ended in the blink of an eye, all because of a bad decision.

What to Do Right After a Juvenile DUI Arrest in Florida

After you get that phone call that your child has been arrested for an underage DUI or possession of alcohol charge, a million things might flash through your head. In these situations, it's important to stay calm and quickly contact an underage dui lawyer who can help your family.

Remember these important steps:

  1. Stay calm and encourage your child to be respectful during the arrest process.
  2. Advise your child not to make any statements or admissions to police.
  3. Contact an experienced St. Petersburg juvenile DUI attorney as soon as possible.
  4. Document everything your child remembers about the traffic stop and arrest.

Acting quickly helps protect your child’s rights and may reduce the chances of severe penalties.

How Morris Law Firm Protects Juveniles and Their Families

Experienced Juvenile and Underage DUI Defense

Morris Law Firm focuses on criminal defense in St. Petersburg and has extensive experience representing minors in underage DUI cases. We understand how the juvenile justice system works and are committed to protecting your child’s rights and future at every stage of the process.

Our goal is to minimize the legal, academic, and personal consequences of a DUI charge. Depending on the specifics of the case, we may pursue options such as:

We believe that one mistake shouldn't define a young person’s future. Our team will work to reduce the impact of the charge and help your child move forward with the second chance they deserve.

Contact Morris Law Firm for Help

Contact us at (727) 388-4736 to get the help you need. We’re committed to helping your family navigate this difficult time with clarity and confidence. No child deserves to have their life forever changed because of one bad decision.

Frequently Asked Questions for Parents About Underage DUI

Can my child be charged as an adult for a DUI in Florida?

Yes, especially if their BAC is 0.08% or higher or if the DUI involved an accident or injury.

Will a DUI stay on my child’s record forever?

A conviction can stay on a record permanently, but it may be eligible for expungement or sealing depending on the case.

What is the cost of a DUI in Florida?

In addition to fines and legal fees, you may face increased insurance premiums, lost educational opportunities, and long-term financial impacts.

Is a Zero Tolerance violation the same as a DUI charge?

No. A Zero Tolerance violation is usually an administrative offense for BAC levels between 0.02% and 0.079%. Criminal DUI charges apply at 0.08% or higher or if the driver is otherwise impaired.

What happens if my child refused a breath test?

Refusing a breath test can result in an automatic license suspension, but an attorney may be able to challenge the suspension and defend against criminal charges. Law enforcement can also request and be granted permission to perform a blood test.

Using AI Can Get You And Your Kids Arrested

AI or Artificial Intelligence is a broad set of technologies that allow computers to do things that traditionally required human smarts and human effort.

AI is everywhere from smart assistants like Siri or Alexa, to recommendations you see online about movies or products you may like, as well as GPS navigation to get you from point A to point B in the most efficient way.

AI tools such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft’s Bing Chat are examples of generative AI where via chat prompts from the user they can generate written documents, poems, computer code, scripts, musical pieces, emails, and letters as well as answering questions in an informative way.

These same AI tools in addition to image specific tools such as Google’s Imagen, OpenAI’s DALL-E 2, and Midjourney can generate images, photographs and even videos based on a user’s text prompt.  In fact, the image for this article was generated by Google Gemini.

Herein lies the problem: These same AI image, photographic, and video generative tools can land you and your kids in jail.  How can this be possible?  Read on:

In what is thought to be the first criminal case of its kind, two teenage boys from Miami, Florida were arrested for creating and sharing nude images of their classmates (both male and female) that were generated using AI.  The teens were arrested under Florida Statue §836.13 - Promotion of an altered sexual depiction - which is a third-degree felony offense punishable by up to five (5) years in state prison.  Specifically, the law passed in 2022 states that, “A person who willfully and maliciously promotes any altered sexual depiction of an identifiable person, without the consent of the identifiable person, and who knows or reasonably should have known that such visual depiction was an altered sexual depiction, commits a felony of the third degree.”

Wired magazine reported that the boys created the images and shared them after which school officials were alerted.  The boys were then suspended from school and later charged with the felony offense.  It should be noted that in such cases the defendant could be charged with a separate felony count for each of the shared images, thus if there were for example 5 images created and shared without consent, the individual could be charged with 5 separate third-degree felony offenses each punishable by up to five (5) years in state prison.

Middle school and high school aged children are already familiar with AI tools.  Some schools and teachers even encourage responsible use of AI.  Thus, it is not hard to imagine that kids may experiment with AI and could create images that could end up being criminal and subject them to a Juvenile criminal arrest and a Juvenile criminal record.

Adults are also at risk of criminal charges stemming from illegal use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools.  From a simple practical joke to malicious AI generated revenge porn, if there is a lack of consent from the person in the images and those images are shared a felony offense or offenses may be charged.

The types of images described above are also known as Deepfake nudes - photos or videos created with AI that are generated of a person or oftentimes a celebrity naked or having sex.  These images are sometimes generated online with AI tools and then shared on social media platforms including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, TikTok, and online pornography websites.  Celebrities such as Taylor Swift and Sydney Sweeney have become victims of deepfake nude photos and videos.  Celebrities like Taylor Swift have also begun to sue platforms hosting the images exposing creators of these images not only to criminal charges but also to civil penalties.

AI has also been used to generate explicit images and videos of child victims.  Known as Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) whether it is authentic or created with AI it is still a crime under Florida law. 

It should be noted that Florida Statue §836.13 - Promotion of an altered sexual depiction stands separately and apart from Florida Statute §784.049 - Sexual cyberharassment - otherwise known as the “Revenge Porn Statute.”  Florida’s Revenge Porn Statute makes it a criminal offense to “publish to an Internet website or disseminate through electronic means to another person a sexually explicit image of a person that contains or conveys the personal identification information of the depicted person without the depicted person’s consent, contrary to the depicted person’s reasonable expectation that the image would remain private, for no legitimate purpose, with the intent of causing substantial emotional distress to the depicted person.”  Interestingly violation of the Revenge Porn Statute is a misdemeanor offense while a violation of the AI Porn Statute is a felony offense - thus under current Florida law it is a higher level offense to make and publish a generated image than it is to publish a real image.

If you or your child (Juvenile) have been arrested for a criminal offense of any type, call the Morris Law Firm at 727-388-4736, Option 1 for New Clients for a strategic review of your case and representation.  The Morris Law Firm handles misdemeanor and felony criminal cases throughout the Tampa Bay area and is dedicated to criminal defense.

Morris Law Firm Attorneys rated one of the Top 3 Criminal Defense Lawyers in St. Petersburg!

Morris Law Firm Attorneys rated one of the Top 3 Criminal Defense Lawyers in St. Petersburg!

St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay, Florida

The Morris Law Firm’s attorneys Melinda Morris & Seth Shapiro have been rated one of the Top 3 Criminal Defense Lawyers in St. Petersburg by ThreeBestRated.com for 2024.

The Three Best Rated review team selected the Morris Law Firm for the accolade using a 50-Point Inspection that includes everything from checking reputation, history, complaints, ratings, satisfaction, and general excellence.

https://threebestrated.com/criminal-defense-lawyers-in-st-petersburg-fl

Three Best Rated® was created with the simple goal of helping consumers find the top 3 local businesses, professionals, restaurants and health care providers in a city.  Three Best Rated® displays only businesses that are verified by their employees as they believe that consumers engaging businesses they find on the internet deserve only the best.

Three Best Rated® notes that businesses do not pay them to list them ever. They believe that local businesses provide better and personal services locally. Their policy is free to list because if a business can pay to list, then is it really the best business?

Why You NEED An Attorney at the First Appearance / Advisory Hearing

After a criminal arrest, a defendant must be seen at a First Appearance Hearing (also called Advisory Hearing) within 24 hours under Florida’s Rules of Criminal Procedure if they have not already posted a bond and have been released.

If the defendant has not posted bond, or in the case of a domestic related offense (domestic battery, stalking, violation of injunction, or a violation of pre-trial release) the defendant must be seen at an Advisory Hearing (also known as a First Appearance Hearing) before a judge.

So what happens at a First Appearance / Advisory Hearing and why do you need an attorney there?

There are six issues addressed at a First Appearance / Advisory Hearing:

#1 - Advising the Defendant of their Constitutional Rights

A Defendant must be advised of their constitutional rights including:

Why you need an attorney at the First Appearance / Advisory Hearing:  

#2 - Advising the Defendant of the criminal charges

Why you need an attorney at the First Appearance / Advisory Hearing:

#3 - Determining the issue of counsel for the Defendant

Why you need an attorney at the First Appearance / Advisory Hearing:

#4 - Determining If Probable Cause exists for the arrest

Why you need an attorney at the First Appearance / Advisory Hearing:

#5 - Setting Conditions of Release

Why you need an attorney at the First Appearance / Advisory Hearing:

#6 - Setting an Arraignment Date

If you have been arrested for a criminal offense of any type, call the Morris Law Firm at 727-388-4736, Option 1 for New Clients for a strategic review of your case and representation at the First Appearance / Advisory Hearing. The Morris Law Firm handles misdemeanor and felony criminal cases throughout the Tampa Bay area and is dedicated to criminal defense.

What You Can Do To Help Your Criminal Case

Blow.  Don’t Blow.  Take the 5th. Tell your side of the story.  Do the field sobriety tests. Refuse the tests.  Cooperate.  Don’t cooperate. There is conflicting advice when it comes to what to do when you are being arrested. But after an arrest what can you do to help the outcome of your criminal case?

Depending on what you were arrested for there are things you can do as the client that may help your case. At first glance it may seem that participating in the classes and counseling mentioned below may appear to be an admission to the crime itself, however a skilled criminal defense attorney can make your participation in these activities work for your case. Every case is different, thus a criminal defense attorney with experience in the type of matter you were arrested for can best strategize which of the following may benefit the ultimate outcome of your case.

Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) Meetings 

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who come together to solve their drinking problem. It doesn’t cost anything to attend A.A. meetings. Membership is open to anyone who wants to do something about their drinking problem. Meeting are both in-person and online. A.A.’s primary purpose is to help alcoholics to achieve sobriety. A.A. is oftentimes recommended for clients who have been arrested for DUI or for clients whose arrest was influenced by alcohol.

Narcotics Anonymous (N.A.) Meetings

Similar to A.A., N.A. offers recovery from the effects of addiction through working a twelve-step program, including regular attendance at group meetings. The group atmosphere provides help from peers and offers an ongoing support network for addicts who wish to pursue and maintain a drug-free lifestyle.  N.A. is sometimes recommended for clients who have been arrested where the influence of drugs was involved or in cases of possession of a controlled substance.

Anger Management Course

Anger Management courses are offered in person and on-line. Typical Anger Management courses focus on identifying the causes of anger, understanding what triggers this unhealthy emotion and which behavior patterns lead to anger, and identifying ways to avoid or reduce those patterns. Anger Management courses are typically recommended for clients who have been involved in a Battery or Domestic Battery case.

Batterer’s Intervention Prevention (BIP) Classes

Batterer’s Intervention Prevention (BIP) Classes are required for those found guilty or placed on probation for an act of Domestic Violence and may be required for those Respondents who have a Final Order for an Injunction For Protection Against Domestic Violence. BIP classes provide strategies for taking responsibility, developing critical thinking skills, addressing substance abuse, and improving communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills. Participating in BIP classes proactively (when not otherwise required) can be a useful bargaining tool with the State Attorney and shows that you are taking the case seriously and taking responsibility for your actions.

DUI School

DUI School addresses the effects of alcohol and drugs on a driver's ability to operate a motor vehicle, reviews Florida traffic laws relating to DUI, reviews the DUI process through the court system and DHSMV, and identifies alternatives to future drinking and driving situations. DUI School is frequently recommended to clients who have been arrested on a DUI and enrollment in DUI School is typically required as a prerequisite to obtaining a hardship or business purpose only (BPO) driver license.

Victim Impact Panel (VIP)

The purpose of the Victim Impact Panel (VIP) program is to help drunk and drugged driving offenders to recognize and internalize the lasting and long-term effects of substance-impaired driving. The classes seek to create an empathy and understanding of the tragedy, leave a permanent impression that leads to changes in thinking and behavior and prevents future offenses. VIP is typically required for DUI offenses.

Counseling

Psychological counseling can sometimes be beneficial to the outcome of your case. Either through a Psychiatrist, Psychologist, or Licensed Mental Health Care (LMHC) that may address issues such as anxiety, depression, substance abuse, anger management, family and/or marriage counseling, participation and treatment in mental health counseling may benefit your case and moreover may benefit you personally in the long term.

Remember, taking any of the above classes, counseling, or courses does not admit your guilt to the offense.  Being proactive and taking responsibility for your part in the alleged offense is most oftentimes viewed favorably by the State Attorney and may assist in getting your charges dropped or reduced.  As well, participating in classes, counseling, or courses that may otherwise be required can potentially shorten any potential term of probation.  Make sure to consult with an attorney to determine what course of action is best for your case and circumstances.

If you were arrested for a criminal offense you should consult with an attorney who can assess the facts and circumstances of your arrest and formulate a plan for your best defense. We will review the arrest and other associated evidence (including Body Worn Camera footage)  in an effort to resolve your case successfully. We have significant experience defending criminal cases including experience as a former State Attorney in Pinellas County and experience on the Pinellas County State Attorney’s DUI Manslaughter and Vehicular Homicide Squad. Contact the Morris Law Firm at (727) 388-4736 for a strategic review of your criminal case. The Morris Law Firm  represents clients throughout the Tampa Bay Area, including Pinellas and Hillsborough counties.

Morris Law Firm Attorneys rated one of the Top 3 Criminal Defense Lawyers in St. Petersburg!

Morris Law Firm Attorneys rated one of the Top 3 Criminal Defense Lawyers in St. Petersburg!

St. Petersburg, Tampa Bay, Florida

The Morris Law Firm’s attorneys Melinda Morris & Seth Shapiro have been rated one of the Top 3 Criminal Defense Lawyers in St. Petersburg by ThreeBestRated.com for 2023.

The ThreeBestRated review team selected the Morris Law Firm for the accolade using a 50-Point Inspection that includes everything from checking reputation, history, complaints, ratings, satisfaction, and general excellence.

https://threebestrated.com/criminal-defense-lawyers-in-st-petersburg-fl

Three Best Rated® was created with the simple goal of helping consumers find the top 3 local businesses, professionals, restaurants and health care providers in a city. Three Best Rated® displays only businesses that are verified by their employees as they believe that consumers engaging businesses they find on the internet deserve only the best.

Three Best Rated® notes that businesses do not pay them to list them ever.They believe that local businesses provide better and personal services locally. Their policy is free to list because if a business can pay to list, then is it really the best business?