A DWI charge in Minnesota can become more serious when a child is in the vehicle. Under Minnesota law, having a qualifying child passenger is one of the factors that can increase the degree of a DWI charge. Depending on the circumstances, it can turn what would otherwise be a misdemeanor into a gross misdemeanor and lead to additional consequences involving your driving privileges and license plates.
However, simply having someone under 18 in the vehicle does not automatically trigger the higher charge. Minnesota has specific age requirements for the child-passenger rule. A DWI with a child in the vehicle also does not automatically mean the driver will be charged with child endangerment. These are separate legal issues with different requirements.
When Does a Child Passenger Make a DWI More Serious?
For Minnesota’s DWI law, the child-passenger rule applies when the passenger is under 16 and more than 36 months younger than the driver. Both requirements have to be met.
For example, having a 17-year-old passenger would not count as this particular aggravating factor because the passenger is not under 16. The age difference also matters. If the passenger is under 16 but is not more than three years younger than the driver, the child-passenger aggravating factor does not apply.
The child does not have to be the driver’s son or daughter. The rule is based on the ages of the driver and passenger, not their relationship. That means it can apply when the child is a relative, family friend, or someone else riding in the vehicle.
How Does a Child Passenger Change the DWI Charge?
Minnesota calls a qualifying child passenger an “aggravating factor.” In simple terms, an aggravating factor is something that can make a DWI charge more serious.
A DWI with no aggravating factors is generally a fourth-degree misdemeanor. If a qualifying child is in the vehicle, that one aggravating factor can make the offense a third-degree DWI, which is a gross misdemeanor. Third-degree DWI carries potential penalties of up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $3,000.
The charge can become more serious when another aggravating factor is present as well. That is why it is important to look at more than just whether a child was in the vehicle.
What If Other Aggravating Factors Are Present?
Minnesota recognizes two other aggravating factors in addition to having a qualifying child passenger. One is an alcohol concentration of 0.16 or higher. The other involves certain prior DWI convictions or alcohol-related license incidents within the previous 10 years.
These factors can combine. For example, imagine a driver has a child who meets the age requirements in the vehicle and also has an alcohol concentration of 0.16 or higher. The child passenger is one aggravating factor, and the high alcohol concentration is another. With two aggravating factors, the driver can face second-degree DWI.
The same can happen when a qualifying child passenger is combined with certain prior impaired driving incidents. Whether an older incident actually counts depends on what happened and when, so a driver’s record should be reviewed carefully rather than assuming every previous DWI-related incident will increase the current charge.
What If the Driver Refused Chemical Testing?
Chemical test refusal works differently. Refusing a legally required chemical test is not considered an aggravating factor. Instead, Minnesota law treats qualifying test refusal as its own DWI offense.
A qualifying refusal can result in third-degree DWI even when no other aggravating factor is present. If the driver refused testing and also had a qualifying child passenger, the combination can result in second-degree DWI.
Test refusal can also affect driving privileges under Minnesota’s implied consent law. This means a driver may need to deal with both the criminal charge and a separate driver’s license issue.
What Other Consequences Can Come With a Child-Passenger DWI?
The higher DWI charge is not necessarily the only consequence. Having a qualifying child passenger can also result in license plate impoundment. Depending on the driver’s relationship to the child and what happened during the incident, other legal issues may also arise.
License plate impoundment is separate from both the criminal DWI case and the driver’s license consequences. In practical terms, that means someone facing this type of DWI may have several issues to address at the same time rather than one single case resolving everything.
Can You Also Be Charged With Child Endangerment?
Possibly, but a DWI with a child passenger does not automatically result in a child-endangerment charge.
Child endangerment is a separate offense with its own requirements. Minnesota law can apply when a parent, legal guardian, or caretaker intentionally or recklessly puts a child in a situation likely to cause substantial physical, mental, or emotional harm or death.
The important distinction is that the DWI child-passenger rule and child endangerment are not the same thing. For the DWI aggravating factor, the driver’s relationship to the child does not matter. For a child-endangerment charge, the driver’s relationship to the child and the circumstances of the alleged danger do matter.
If the driver is the child’s parent, guardian, or caretaker, the incident may also raise child-protection or custody concerns. Whether those issues arise depends on what happened, so they should not be treated as automatic consequences of every DWI involving a child.
What Should You Do After a DWI With a Child Passenger?
One of the first steps is determining exactly why the DWI has been charged at a particular degree. That includes checking whether the passenger actually meets Minnesota’s age requirements, whether any prior impaired driving incidents legally count against you, and whether another aggravating factor is being alleged.
The evidence behind the DWI itself also matters. An attorney can review why the vehicle was stopped, what happened during field sobriety testing, how chemical testing was handled, and whether the evidence supports the charge. These issues may be part of the available DWI defense strategy.
It is also important to identify the separate issues created by the arrest. A driver’s license revocation, license plate impoundment, and possible child-endangerment allegation can have different rules from the criminal DWI charge.
Coodin Law Office, LLC can review the circumstances of a Minnesota DWI involving a child passenger, explain what the charges mean in plain language, and help you understand the criminal and driver’s license issues you may need to address. Contact our office to discuss your situation.