Ways That Your Teen Can Prove That His/Her Breaking Curfew Wasn't Illegal

As a responsible parent of a teenager, you're likely vigilant about ensuring that your son or daughter doesn't stay out too late. Not only are there safety risks that can occur late in the night, but there's also a chance that your teen could be arrested for breaking curfew. Legal consequences for breaking curfew tend to be light, but if you're aware that your teen has a perfectly legitimate reason for being out past curfew, you may want to hire him or her an attorney who handles misdemeanor matters. Generally, a city's curfew laws will have exceptions, and your teen and the attorney can argue that there was a good reason to be out after hours.

Medical Documentation

In most cases, a city's curfew law won't apply if there's a medical emergency. However, if your teen was still arrested for being out too late, the proper evidence can be pivotal in creating a strong defense. For example, if you were sick and were taken to the hospital in an ambulance, your teen might have followed in your family vehicle — and been arrested before reaching the hospital. In this scenario, your medical documentation can support the reason for the teen being out late at night.

Employment Records

Most teenagers' work shifts will have them home before the city's curfew hours begin, but there can sometimes be exceptions. For example, it's possible that your teen had to stay late at work because a colleague didn't show up, so he or she might have been driving home after curfew. A formal record of your son or daughter's hours of work on the date in question — which the employer will be able to provide — can be valuable evidence to share with your defense attorney.

Sports Commitments

Athletes can sometimes find themselves out after curfew for reasons that are beyond their control. Many sporting events for teenagers begin in the evening and can run late. For example, a baseball game that goes into extra innings or a hockey game that requires several periods of overtime to declare a winner, might not wrap up until the hours of curfew for the area have begun. If the officer who stopped your son or daughter after a sporting event wasn't understanding, you can fight the charge in court. A critical piece of evidence will be the game's box score, which is typically posted on the league's website. It will list your teen as one of the participants and show when the game started and ended.

To learn more, speak with a criminal attorney.