Oprah Addresses Mothers Who Have Been Accused of DUI
Yesterday’s Oprah show addressed mothers and drunk driving. Her show was most likely prompted by the recent tragedy involving Carmen Huertas who was allegedly driving with a 0.13% BAC when she lost control of her car, killing one of seven children who were passengers inside.
We coincidentally blogged that story on Monday (Mom Charged with Vehicular Manslaughter) and ended the article by stating that lobbyists would surely use it in their arsenal to pursue tougher DUI legislation.
Oprah’s show only increases that possibility.
Oprah’s guests included one of the girls who was thrown from Huertas’s car as well as the father of the child who was killed in the accident. She also used her national platform to call attention to some other recent heartbreaking accounts of mothers who drove drunk with children in the car…something she seems to believe is a more common phenomenon that we realize.
These events, coupled with the media’s attention to this issue, will undoubtedly prompt MADD and other anti-drinking groups to push for harsher DUI penalties.
Current California law holds that if you drive under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs with a child in the car, you will be charged with DUI and either Penal Code 273a child endangerment or an enhanced DUI sentence.
When prosecutors allege a Penal Code 273a child endangerment violation in connection with a misdemeanor DUI, it is also typically filed as a misdemeanor. When prosecutors instead file an aggravated DUI for driving under the influence with a child in the car, the defendant is sentenced to a minimum of 48 hours in a county jail.
The recent publicity regarding DUIs with children in the car could very well turn these misdemeanor offenses into automatic felonies...especially in light of California’s (and the rest of the nation’s) recent crack-down on DUI offenders.
