Vehicle Code 23572 – DUI with a Child Under 14 in the Car

Vehicle Code 23572 VC is the California statute that provides for enhanced penalties for defendants who drive under the influence with a child under the age of fourteen (14) in the vehicle. This includes a mandatory 48 hours of jail on a first time DUI offense.

This “DUI with child endangerment” sentence enhancement consists of additional mandatory jail time (on top of standard California DUI penalties). This means that if you are convicted of driving under the influence with a child in the car, you will definitely serve time in jail. ^1 2

The following chart sets forth the additional jail time:

What does the prosecutor have to prove to convict me of VC 23572 DUI with a child in the car?

Vehicle Code 23572 VC is straightforward.  If you are convicted of misdemeanor DUI.and you had a minor under 14 in the car at the time you were arrested, then the “DUI with child endangerment” sentencing enhancement applies.

Factors such as

• whether you intended to harm the child,
• your level of intoxication, or
• your driving pattern

don’t really matter. VC 23572 is only concerned with two questions:

1. whether you were driving under the influence, and
2. whether there was a child under 14 in the car at the time you drove.³

How can I fight a DUI child endangerment sentence enhancement?

It bears repeating that the penalty enhancement for DUI with a minor under 14 in the car only applies to cases where you have been convicted of Vehicle Code 23152(a) VC driving under the influence or Vehicle Code 23152(b) VC driving with a BAC of 0.08 or above.⁴

As San Bernardino DUI defense attorney Michael Scafiddi explains,⁵

“If your attorney can successfully fight your DUI case, the court cannot impose the increased penalty for having a child passenger--and VC 23572 will not apply.”

Moreover, even if your lawyer can’t secure you an outright dismissal of the case through common DUI defenses, a plea bargain to a reduced DUI charge will also avoid the sentence enhancement for DUI with a child in the car.

If, for example, your attorney negotiates your DUI charge down to a “wet reckless” or “dry reckless“,⁶ California Vehicle Code 23572 VC no longer applies.

How Much Extra Jail Time Will I Serve for DUI With a Minor in the Car Under VC 23572?

If you are convicted of DUI and the sentence enhancement for DUI with a minor passenger applies, you will face both normal DUI penalties and the following additional and consecutive sentence:

• forty-eight (48) hours in a county jail for a first DUI conviction,
• ten (10) days in jail for a second DUI conviction,
• thirty (30) days in jail for a third DUI conviction, OR
• ninety (90) days in jail for a fourth or subsequent misdemeanor DUI conviction.⁷

This is a mandatory sentence--which means you will definitely serve the time if convicted with a Vehicle Code 23572 DUI with a child in the car enhancement.

For purposes of DUI sentencing, “prior” DUI convictions only refer to those convictions which you suffered within a ten-year period prior to being arrested for VC 23572 DUI with child endangerment.⁸

A fourth DUI in a ten-year period can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony. If it is charged as a felony, the Vehicle Code 23572 VC enhancement for DUI with a child in the car will not apply.⁹

Can I be charged with both VC 23572 DUI with a child in the car and PC 273a child endangerment?

Penal Code 273(a) PC, California’s child endangerment law, is a separate crime that can be filed as either a misdemeanor or a felony.¹⁰ California child endangerment law punishes those who willfully place a child in a situation where his/her health and/or welfare may be endangered.  California courts have found driving under the influence with a child passenger to fall into this category.

In cases where an intoxicated person drives with a minor child under 14 in the car, prosecutors can elect to charge any of:

• the Vehicle Code 23572 VC DUI sentencing enhancement,
• the separate crime of child endangerment, OR
• both DUI with a child in the car AND child endangerment.

However, you cannot be convicted of both DUI with a child in the car and child endangerment. The court is prohibited from imposing the additional sentencing enhancement under Vehicle Code 23572 VC on people who are also convicted of child endangerment.¹¹

(It is, however, possible to be convicted of both ordinary DUI--without the minor-in-the-car sentence enhancement--and child endangerment.)

Prosecutors may charge child endangerment regardless of:

1. the age of the minor passenger (that is, anyone under 18 counts), and
2. whether the DUI is filed as a misdemeanor or a felony.

That said, Penal Code 273a PC child endangerment charges are very serious and are not automatically filed in connection with every DUI where there is a child passenger. Prosecutors usually save child endangerment charges for the most serious cases.

Example: Scott is pulled over because his brake light is out. His 12-year-old daughter is in the passenger seat, wearing her seat belt. The officer smells alcohol on Scott’s breath and commences a DUI investigation. It turns out that Scott’s BAC is 0.09%. Scott has never been convicted of DUI before.

In this case, the prosecutor is likely to charge Scott with DUI with a child under 14 in the car under VC 23572. They are unlikely to file child endangerment charges because this is not a particularly serious DUI.

BUT

Example: A California Highway Patrol officer pulls Elizabeth over for erratic driving. It turns out that Elizabeth is extremely intoxicated and slurring her speech. A DUI breath test reveals that her BAC is 0.15%. Elizabeth also has her 2-year-old grandson in the back seat, not strapped into a car seat.

Elizabeth may end up being charged with both DUI and PC 273a child endangerment instead of the DUI with a minor passenger sentence enhancement, since her offense is more serious.

If convicted of misdemeanor child endangerment, you face up to one (1) year in a county jail.  If convicted of felony child endangerment, you face up to six (6) years in the California State Prison.¹²

By contrast, Vehicle Code 23572 VC, DUI with a child in the car, only subjects you to an absolute maximum of 180 days in jail.

Call us for help . . .

Call us for help

If you or a loved one is charged with Vehicle Code 23572 VC DUI with a child under 14 in rhe car, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group. We can provide a free consultation in office or by phone. We have local offices in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, Long Beach, Orange County, Ventura, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and throughout California.

In Colorado? Read our article on DUI with child under 16 (CRS 18-6-401).

In Nevada? Read our article on DUI with a child under 15.

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