A DUI conviction carries numerous potential consequences, but for some, the loss of custody or access to their children may be the most significant. There are times when police may call Child Protective Services (CPS), especially if they pull you over and you fail your test with children in the car. Ultimately, the legal process will proceed to determine whether you should lose custody of your child.
Under the law, the court is always going to side with what it believes is in the best interest of the child, not you. For that reason, if the court suspects that the child is at risk because of your behaviors, including driving under the influence, that may lead to changes to custody arrangements. Speak with an Oklahoma first time DUI defense attorney today.
What Happens When Children Are in the Car
Law enforcement pulls you over for suspicion of driving under the influence. That means you must submit to a test to determine if you are intoxicated, called field sobriety tests. If you fail one of them, you are given a breath test. Failed breath, blood, urine, or saliva tests can result in the loss of your driver’s license, fines, and even jail time.
At that moment, though, police have to think about what is best for the child. The police may call CPS if there are children in the car at the time of your DUI arrest. In this situation, law enforcement considers this child endangerment, and as a result, you could face an arrest for that reason. Even if the child was not hurt and no accident occurred, you can still be charged with putting the child in danger. CPS ultimately determines what happens next with your child.
One Time Versus a Pattern
It is unlikely that a person facing a DUI charge without children in the car would lose custody of their child. It is not likely that a single DUI charge will result in your automatic loss of custody. Rather, CPS and the court, in general, will look at the situation as a whole to determine what is in the child’s best interest.
If there is a clear pattern of instances in which you are driving the child while you are under the influence or suspected to be so, that could result in changes made to custody agreements. You may not be allowed to operate a vehicle while the child is in your presence.
Another factor taken into consideration is jail time. For a person with more than one DUI, a jail sentence can occur. That could mean spending months in jail, unable to care for your child. The court may, at this time, make the decision to remove the child from your custody and place them with the other parent or responsible party. This could affect your ability to maintain custody later if the other parent threatens to do so.
What This Means for You with a DUI
It is not likely that you will lose your children after a single DUI, but if the child is in the car, you face an increased risk of CPS involvement. In these situations, it is imperative that you hire an attorney to craft a defense strategy for you that helps you avoid a conviction. The key here is to act quickly to protect your rights.