Picture this: You’re at a friend’s wedding with your family. Everyone’s having a great time, dressed to the nines and dancing. The food is delicious, the booze is flowing and everyone’s celebrating.
All in all, the evening was wonderful, and when it’s time to head home you’re tired but happy. You load the kids into the car and head out, humming to yourself and thinking about how good your bed is going to feel when you finally collapse into it later.
But suddenly red and blue lights are flashing in your rear view mirror and a siren jars you out of your reverie. You pull over, wondering if you were a few miles over the speed limit. Suddenly there’s a cop at your window, wanting your driver’s license and asking you if you’ve had anything to drink this evening. You don’t lie – you had a couple of drinks at the wedding. But surely they don’t think you’re actually drunk!?
How did this happen? You aren’t a drunk driver!
Without warning, the evening has gone from bliss to nightmare, and you’re sitting in the back of a cop car while some total stranger from CPS drives away with your crying kids in the back of their car. How did this happen? How did a couple of drinks at a wedding mean that you’re a bad enough parent to warrant having your children taken away by the state? It just doesn’t make sense!
Yet, in the eyes of the law it does. If you were behind the wheel with more than .08 alcohol in your bloodstream (which is called your BAC) then you’re considered to be over the legal limit. And if you’re driving on a road in Michigan with a BAC of .08 or higher, you’re considered to be driving drunk. If your kids happen to be with you at the time, then you’re looking at a possible child endangerment charge!
Drunk driving with kids in the car is considered to be child endangerment!
What is child endangerment? It’s when someone is accused of doing something that puts a child at risk of being injured, or suffering from a mental or physical impairment, or of dying. You don’t have to threaten, assault or injure a child to be accused of child endangerment. You only have to do something that places a child in danger of being hurt or killed.
Driving drunk is dangerous, and can be deadly. So here in Michigan, driving drunk with a child under the age of 16 in the car is considered to be child endangerment. The first time you’re charged with Child Endangerment, it’s a misdemeanor, but after that, every consecutive charge is a felony.
Being charged with child endangerment is a big deal in Michigan!
A parent accused of endangering a child can end up facing criminal charges, both for the child endangerment, and for the drunk driving. But it probably won’t end there. If a CPS worker was called to the scene by the cops (whihc happens pretty much every time), even if your kids were placed with relatives, CPS will probably be investigating you. That could mean all kind of invasive visits, court dates, and mandatory “services” ordered by the court.
If CPS is threatening you with having your children taken away because of drunk driving, then you understand what’s at stake if you do nothing. Our skilled CPS defense attorneys have spent decades fighting CPS and protecting families. We understand what you’re up against, and we can help you through this. Call us today at 866-346-5879. We’re available 24/7 in the event of an emergency.