Attorney for Underage DVI Defense in Salt Lake City

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Utah has a “Not a Drop” state law that is a zero tolerance policy when it comes to consumption of alcohol by minors. A minor commits a criminal offense in Utah when he or she operates a motor vehicle with any detectable amount of alcohol in his or her body (commonly abbreviated as “DVI”).

While violations of the Not a Drop law are not usually punishable by incarceration, convictions can result in lengthy suspensions of driver’s licenses. When a minor has a blood or breath alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or greater, he or she can be subject to the same criminal penalties as adult offenders.

Attorney for Underage DVI Defense in Salt Lake City

If you or your child was recently arrested for a Not a Drop law violation in Utah, it is in your best interest to retain legal counsel as soon as possible. Susanne Gustin, Attorney at Law defends juveniles in communities all over Salt Lake County and Weber County.

Salt Lake City criminal defense lawyer Susanne Gustin can fight to possibly get your criminal charges completely dismissed. You can have our attorney provide a complete evaluation of your case when you call 801-243-2814 to schedule a free initial consultation.

Underage DVI Charges in Salt Lake County

Utah Code § 53-3-231(2)(a) simply states that a person younger than 21 years of age cannot operate or be in actual physical control of a vehicle or motorboat with any measurable blood, breath, or urine alcohol concentration in his or her body as shown by a chemical test. While operation of a motor vehicle is fairly straight forward and does not necessitate definition, the phrase “actual physical control” has been subject to a little more interpretation.

The “Richfield factors” as they relate to actual physical control factors refers to the case of Richfield City v. Walker, 790 P.2d 87 (Utah Ct. App. 1990), in which the Court of Appeals of Utah concluded that it “must look to the totality of the circumstances to determine whether defendant was in actual physical control of his vehicle.” Relevant factors listed by the Court of Appeals in determining whether a defendant was in actual physical control of his or her vehicle include, but are not limited to the following:

whether defendant was asleep or awake when discovered;
the position of the automobile;
whether the automobile’s motor was running;
whether defendant was positioned in the driver’s seat of the vehicle;
whether defendant was the vehicle’s sole occupant;
whether defendant had possession of the ignition key;
defendant’s apparent ability to start and move the vehicle;
how the car got to where it was found; and
whether defendant drove it there.

Any minor who has a BAC of anything other than 0.00 can be charged with this crime.

Underage DVI Penalties in Utah

A person has 29 days to request a hearing to be held by the Driver License Division in the county in which the arrest occurred or the county adjacent to the arrest location. A hearing will cover whether a peace officer had reasonable grounds to believe the alleged offender was operating a motor vehicle or motorboat in violation of Utah Code, whether the alleged offender refused to submit to the test, and the test results, if any.

If the alleged offender does not request a hearing, fails to appear before the division, or the division determines that the peace officer had reasonable grounds to believe the alleged offender was operating a motor vehicle or motorboat in violation of Utah Code § 53-3-231(2)(a), driver’s licenses may be restricted as follows:

First Offense — Denial of license for minimum of six months;
Second or Subsequent Offense — Suspension of license until person turns 21 years of age or two years, whichever is longer;
First Offense by Person Not Issued License — Denial of license or learner’s permit for minimum of six months;
Second or Subsequent Offense by Person Not Issued License — Denial of license until person turns 21 years of age or two years, whichever is longer;

All suspensions also require people to comply with the terms of Utah Code § 53-3-231(12)(b)(i), which establishes that reinstatement of a person’s operator license or the right to obtain an operator license within five years of the effective date of the license sanction is contingent upon successful completion of the action recommended by the local substance abuse authority or the substance abuse program. Under The local substance abuse authority’s or the substance abuse program’s recommended action is determined by an assessment of the person’s alcohol abuse and can include:

a targeted education and prevention program;
an early intervention program; or
a substance abuse treatment program.

Salt Lake County Underage DVI Resources

Utah Code § 53-3-231 — View the full text of Utah’s Not a Drop law. Learn more about peace officer requirements relating to these matters. You can also read provisions relating to the denial, suspension, and reinstatement of driver’s licenses.

An Impact Evaluation of Underage Drinking Prevention Projects | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — View the full text of a NHTSA report summarizing the results of a highway safety impact evaluation of four underage drinking prevention programs in the United States. One of the programs evaluated is the Salt Lake City Underage Drinking Prevention Project (SLCUDPP) in Salt Lake County, Utah. The report found that step function intervention in SLCUDPP produced no effect at any time near to January 1996, but the ramp function indicated a gradually increasing reduction of roughly 0.6 percent per month starting at January 1997 and reaching a maximum reduction of 14 percent (or about 20 crashes per month) at December 1998.

Find an Underage DVI Defense Lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT

Were you or your child arrested for a violation of the Not a Drop law in Utah? You should avoid speaking to authorities until you are first able to contact Susanne Gustin, Attorney at Law.

Susanne Gustin is an experienced criminal defense attorney in Salt Lake City who represents individuals in communities throughout Weber County and Salt Lake County. Call 801-243-2814 or fill out an online contact form to have our lawyer review your case and discuss all of your legal options during a free, confidential consultation.

Dismissal

Charges: Rape of a child
Date: August 2023
Details: Several rape of a child charges allegedly occurring over several years is dismissed based on statute of limitations. Gustin elicits favorable testimony from the alleged victim at the preliminary hearing about reporting the incident…

High Profile Cases

Acquittal

Charges: Aggravated kidnapping, rape, forcible sexual abuse
Date: October 2015
Details: Gustin earns “not guilty” verdicts on aggravated kidnapping, rape and forcible sexual abuse charges after one week jury trial. Client was facing 30 years-to-life in prison.

No charges

Allegation: Child sexual abuse
Date: December 2017
Details: Client faced allegations of child sexual abuse when he was teaching swimming lessons to a child. District Attorney’s office declines to prosecute when Gustin provides office with interviews of employees at the pool and provides…

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I am writing this review out of sincere gratitude for the “Red Shoes Living” customer service experience provided to me by Susanne Gustin. I had a very unique case and at the onset, I knew my case would require a person of high character, compassion, and who would exercise a strong work ethic to provide me with the commitment to working my case to my high standards. We live in a society where the large majority have lost faith in our legal system and in receiving quality customer service from a reputable attorney, the kind of service one would expect to receive under duress, whether guilty or innocent. In all honesty, I received compassion, attentiveness, timely responses, excellent communication, fair and concise guidance, and clarity, every step of the way, which resulted in the most favorable outcome for my situation. The feeling of having an attorney who was in the corner with me and could defend me while upholding justice and fairness was unmeasurable. Life and circumstances that may land an individual in a situation that brings into question their character, by their actions, or reaction, even the most honest person with the best of intentions, can be out of someone’s control. Retaining Susanne Gustin, to represent me was the best decision I made, enabling me to bring my life back together relatively quickly, with the least amount of collateral damage, saving my hard-earned career and academic education, ultimately assisting me in moving forward, beyond a set of circumstances that would not define me. Susanne Gustin took a sincere interest in humanizing me and in defending me. I will always be thankful for the high value of service she delivered.

Ida

A Google user

The courtesy and professionalism my family received from Ms. Gustin were extraordinary. She returned our initial texts and phone calls quickly and efficiently. She established an action plan immediately. She contacted us on weekends to effectively see our situation end with positive results. She had our case wrapped up successfully in a matter of weeks. When your family members are falsely accused, Ms. Gustin is the person to have in your corner. Her kindness, care, and compassion are above reproach. Our trust was well-placed and her results were impeccable. Our family will ever be grateful for Susanne’s generosity with her knowledge, talents, and care.

Kristine

A Google user

When our granddaughter found herself in a very difficult situation and accused of assault, Susanne was able to get her sentence greatly reduced and she was able to avoid prison. Susanne is very competent and professional and is dedicated to getting the best outcome for her client. From the very beginning she encouraged us that she could help our granddaughter and she did. We were able to reach her and get our questions answered. She is very experienced and has earned the respect of the prosecutors. She is an excellent attorney and we strongly recommend her to help a person get their life back on track.

Gerald

A Google user

Highly recommend she helped me get rid of my domestic violence charge and keep my record clean. She also was very responsive with text messages and phone calls. Very easy to get a hold of anytime.

Austin

A Google user

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Underage DVI