4 Penalties for Child Endangerment Under the Influence of Alcohol and Drugs

It is the duty of the adults to take care of the children. You may know that there is a legal responsibility of the adults to ensure the fact that the children are free from unreasonably dangerous situations. Wherever the adult cannot protect the child and meets with an unhealthy, dangerous, or inappropriate situation, states can punish the adult under the crime “child endangerment”. In this condition, MA OUI lawyer plays a very important role.

If you are operating under influence with a child passenger (14 years or younger), a court can increase the penalties in this situation as it is constituted as child endangerment.

The Melanie’s law in 2005 by the Massachusetts State Legislature created a new crime of Child Endangerment While Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs.

You may know that every year thousands of lives are lost due to intoxicated drivers. For this reason driving under the influence of marijuana or alcohol is strictly prohibited in Massachusetts. You may be punished for driving a car while high with alcohol. If someone is arrested for OUI of marijuana, need to hire an experienced and certified MA OUI Lawyer to get rid of this problem.

It is risky to travel under the influence of alcohol with the children at back seats. Here, you will get to know about the penalties for violation of the criminal child endangerment under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Let’s begin:

• Fines: The court can charge a particular amount of money to give as a result of the violation of the law. Sometimes the court can come to the conclusion and the let the felony go by imposing fine on him or her.
• Probation: The court may also order the convict to serve a probation sentence. The probation period generally lasts for minimum a year and that person needs to report on a daily basis to a probation officer. In this time period, the officer also needs to perform different activities like family counseling and refrain the person from further illegal activities.
• Jail or imprisonment: The court may decide to give 90 days to 2.5 years incarceration in the house of correction with a certain amount of money as fine and the person’s license will be suspended for 1 year by The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles. On the other hand, the second offense would be like 3-5 years in state prison and 6 months to 2.5 years imprisonment in the house of correction with a fine. Here the person can lose the license for 3 years.
• Curtailed in parental rights: If the legal guardian is convicted of child endangerment, the court may strip the rights of the parents for being charged under the criminal child endangerment under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The court may order to place the child with the state child services agency for a time period until a new guardian can be found.

So, now you know about the penalties for child endangerment under the influence of alcohol and drugs. It is not only about the penalties but about your health and your child’s security. Give a healthy and danger free life to your children. If needed always go for MA OUI lawyer without any hesitation.