Yes, in three situations. The furnishing charge itself becomes more serious if the minor drinks the alcohol and that causes great bodily injury or death to anyone. A parent or legal guardian can face a separate misdemeanor if they knowingly let a child under 18 drink at home, the child reaches a 0.05 percent blood-alcohol level, and the child then causes a crash while driving with the parent’s knowing permission. And the furnishing statute says its penalties do not preclude prosecution under other laws, naming Penal Code section 272 (contributing to the delinquency of a minor).
When the minor’s drinking causes great bodily injury or death
Business and Professions Code section 25658(c) applies when someone buys alcohol for, furnishes it to, or gives it to a person under 21, and that person thereafter consumes the alcohol and thereby proximately causes great bodily injury or death to themselves or any other person(c). The injured person can be the minor. Under the pattern jury instruction, the prosecution must prove the purchase or furnishing, that the person was under 21, that the person drank the alcohol, and that the drinking caused death or great bodily injury (CALCRIM No. 2964). Great bodily injury means significant or substantial physical injury, greater than moderate harm, and the injury or death must be a direct, natural, and probable consequence of the drinking that would not have happened without it; when there are several causes, the drinking must be a substantial factor.
The offense is still a misdemeanor, but the penalty changes. Subdivision (e)(3) provides for county jail for a minimum term of six months not to exceed one year(e)(3), a fine of $3,000, or both. The court chooses among jail, the fine, or both, but any jail term it imposes must be at least six months.
The prosecution does not have to prove the defendant knew the person was under 21. In In re Jennings (2004) 34 Cal.4th 254, a subdivision (c) case, the California Supreme Court held that a defendant may still defend by claiming an honest and reasonable belief that the person was 21 or older.
When a parent’s child drinks at home, then drives and crashes
Business and Professions Code section 25658.2 is a separate offense aimed at parents and legal guardians. It applies when a parent or guardian knowingly permits their child, or a person in the child’s company, or both, who are under 18, to consume an alcoholic beverage or use a controlled substance at the home of the parent or legal guardian(a). That permission alone is not this crime. All three of the following must also occur:
- As a result of drinking or drug use at that home, the young person has a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.05 percent or more on a chemical test, or is under the influence of a controlled substance.
- The parent knowingly permits the young person, after leaving the home, to drive a vehicle.
- The young person is found to have caused a traffic collision while driving.
The pattern instruction lists the parent’s knowledge as separate elements: knowing about the drinking or drug use, and knowing about the driving (CALCRIM No. 2965). The penalty is imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year(b), a fine of up to $1,000, or both. The young driver may face a separate case of their own; see underage DUI in California.
When Penal Code section 272 is added
Section 25658(g) says the section’s penalties do not preclude prosecution(g) or penalties under any other law, including, but not limited to, Section 272 of the Penal Code(g). That removes a bar to a second charge; it does not prove one.
Penal Code section 272(a)(1) protects people under 18 (and, in one clause, wards and dependent children of the juvenile court), so an ordinary 18-, 19-, or 20-year-old is outside it. Under CALCRIM No. 2980, the prosecution must prove either (1) an act, or a failure to perform a duty, that caused, encouraged, or contributed to causing or encouraging a minor to become or remain a dependent or delinquent child of the juvenile court, or (2) that the defendant induced or tried to induce a minor to disobey a lawful juvenile court order, or to act or live in a way that would cause or obviously tend to cause the minor to become or remain a dependent or delinquent child. The defendant must have acted with general criminal intent or criminal negligence (CALCRIM No. 2980). For parents, section 272(a)(2) adds that a parent or legal guardian shall have the duty to exercise reasonable care, supervision, protection, and control over their minor child(a)(2).
A section 272 conviction is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500, up to one year in county jail, or both, or the person may be released on probation for a period not exceeding five years(a)(1).
What this means for your case
None of these charges follows automatically from an injury or a crash. Each needs its own proof: causation and the level of injury under subdivision (c); the child’s age, the test result or drug influence, the parent’s knowledge, and the collision under section 25658.2; and the elements of section 272. If a minor was badly hurt, get them medical help first. The Law Offices of David S. Chesley can then review the police report, any test results, and the specific charges filed. Call (800) 755-5174 to talk through your situation.