DWI With Child Endangerment Lawyer Kansas City, MO

DWI With Child Endangerment Offenses in the Missouri Revised Statutes

The Missouri Revised Statutes don’t have a single offense covering a DWI with child endangerment. As a result, you can face separate charges for a single incident.

DWI

DWI occurs when someone operates a motor vehicle while in an intoxicated condition. Someone is intoxicated when they are under the influence of controlled substances, illicit drugs, alcohol, or a combination of multiple substances.

You can be considered under the influence of a substance if it impairs your driving abilities. Officers may use a field sobriety test to verify impairment by measuring your physical and mental sharpness. The officer may record the test, and prosecutors may play the video at your trial to prove impairment.

DWI has a built-in enhancement when you drive with a passenger under 17. This enhancement only requires proof of the passenger’s age and that they were present in the vehicle. It doesn’t normally require proof that you endangered the passenger by crashing or allowing them to ride without a seat belt. Simply driving while intoxicated with a minor in the vehicle can support the enhanced penalty.

Additionally, a DWI charge doesn’t necessarily require proof that you were driving. “Operating” includes sitting in a parked vehicle if you have physical control of it, while physical control means that you have the intent and ability to drive.

This means that sleeping in a parked vehicle can constitute a DWI if you were in the driver’s seat and had access to the keys. If your child was in the back seat, you could face more serious penalties.

Driving With Excessive Blood Alcohol Content

Driving with excessive blood alcohol content (BAC) happens when you operate a vehicle with a BAC of 0.08% or higher. Your BAC is measured with a chemical test of your breath, saliva, blood, or urine.

This offense doesn’t generally require proof of intoxication. You can commit this offense with a high BAC, even if you passed a field sobriety test.

Penalties for this offense don’t include an enhancement for minor passengers. So if you have a high BAC and a minor in your vehicle, prosecutors must either file DWI charges with an enhancement for driving with a child or teenage passenger, or file a separate child endangerment charge against you.

First-Degree Child Endangerment

When it comes to DWI charges, first-degree child endangerment happens when someone does either of the following:

• Knowingly creates a substantial risk to the life or health of a child under 18
• Unlawfully possesses, sells, or transports fentanyl, carfentanil, amphetamine, or methamphetamine in the presence of a child under 18

DWI with child endangerment charges might be possible in a few scenarios. First, a driver might face these charges if they knew that they were too impaired to drive, but put the child in the car and drove anyway. The case for these charges could be stronger if the driver crashed or committed a serious traffic violation, such as going the wrong way on the freeway or driving at an excessively high speed.

Second, a DWI may be accompanied by first-degree child endangerment charges if the driver was high and had drugs in the car. In this scenario, the prosecution does not need to prove that the driver’s actions posed a risk to the child. Instead, the law merely requires proof that the child was in the presence of the substances.

Second-Degree Child Endangerment

Second-degree child endangerment happens when a person acts in a criminally negligent manner that creates a substantial risk to the life or health of a child under 17

A DWI with child endangerment charges could occur when the impaired driver transports a minor passenger despite being impaired. However, the prosecution must still prove criminal negligence. Criminal negligence means that the driver knew or should have known that they were too impaired to drive safely.

Educational efforts about drunk and drugged driving tend to be pervasive, so one could argue that all drivers know or should know the dangers of intoxicated driving. As a result, this charge could arguably be brought in any DWI or excessive BAC case involving a child passenger.

Whether you’re facing first- or second-degree charges, our attorneys can craft a personalized defense to help secure a positive outcome for your situation.

Potential Defenses Against Kansas City, MO, DWI With Child Endangerment Charges

The criminal defense strategies our team may use to defend you from DWI with child endangerment charges will depend on the unique facts of your case, but here’s a closer look at some common defenses:

No Impairment

You might have an explanation for your appearance and performance on a field sobriety test. For example, you might have a medical condition, such as a brain injury, that might make it seem like you are impaired while still allowing you to drive safely. Your doctor can testify in your defense.

No Operation

We may be able to argue that you were not operating the vehicle. If you left the keys outside the car or locked in the trunk, you lacked actual control of the vehicle.

Involuntary Impairment

Involuntary impairment means that you did not know that you had been drugged. For example, we could use this defense if your non-alcoholic drink was spiked with GHB.

Necessity

You might have a defense if you had no choice but to drive your child while impaired. Suppose your child was injured during a camping trip. You had no cell service, and your child needed medical attention. We could argue that you needed to drive the child while you were intoxicated because waiting could have resulted in a serious injury or death.

Penalties for DWI With Child Endangerment in Kansas City, MO

The penalties for a DWI when you have a child in the vehicle depend on the specific charges. A DWI with a passenger under 17 is charged as a Class A misdemeanor and punishable by up to one year in jail.

Driving with excessive BAC is a Class B misdemeanor for a first offense. There is no enhancement for having a child passenger for this charge, so the penalty for this offense can involve up to six months in jail.

However, prosecutors can add first- or second-degree child endangerment charges. A first-degree charge is punishable by up to seven years in prison, while a second-degree charge can come with up to one year in jail. In either case, our lawyers can fight these charges on your behalf.