DUI / DWI

Drunk Driving / DUI / DWI / Impaired Driving

The charge of Impaired Driving is a serious criminal offense. The state of North Carolina has some of the most rigorous laws in the nation regarding that offense. As such, it is imperative to immediately seek the advice and assistance of an attorney after being charged for driving while subject to an impairing substance.

The law has recently changed in North Carolina requiring the person who is charged with an impaired driving offense to take certain immediate actions to preserve any available defenses. For instance:

Was there reasonable suspicion to stop you for drunk driving?
Was there probable cause to arrest you for drunk driving?
Were Miranda warnings provided?
Did law enforcement properly advise you of North Carolina’s implied consent warnings?
Did you willfully refuse to submit to a blood or breath test?
Was your blood alcohol concentration 0.08 or greater?
Were the testing instruments properly maintained and calibrated?

Suppression based on an unlawful stop, illegal determination, or unlawful arrest normally means that the following must be excluded from evidence: breath, urine, or blood test results; statements made after the arrest; physical evidence taken from the individual or vehicle; and observations made of the driver by the police, including indicators of alcohol consumption and performance on field sobriety tests like the walk and turn test and one-leg stand.

At Hopper Law Firm, your attorney will obtain copies of the test tickets and implied consent forms from your breathalyzer exam, a copy of all affidavits filed by the arresting officer and certified chemical analyst, a copy of the Alcohol Inventory Report created by the arresting officer, and all maintenance logs and calibrations of testing instruments in order to better assess your case and protect your rights.

Impaired driving

Impaired driving in North Carolina is set out in North Carolina General Statutes § 20-138.1:

(a) Offense. A person commits the offense of impaired driving if he drives any vehicle upon any highway, any street, or any public vehicular area within this State:

(1) While under the influence of an impairing substance; or

(2) After having consumed sufficient alcohol that he has, at any relevant time after the driving, an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. The results of a chemical analysis shall be deemed sufficient evidence to prove a person's alcohol concentration.

(3) With any amount of a Schedule I controlled substance, as listed in G.S. 90-89, or its metabolites in his blood or urine.

Impairment

Impairment does not have any special legal meaning, but simply means "weakening, making worse, diminishment. Impairment can be generally construed to mean the loss off the normal control of his bodily or mental faculties, or both. In North Carolina, the consumption of alcohol, standing alone, does not render a person impaired. However, the State need not show that the defendant is "drunk," i.e., that his or her faculties are materially impaired. Rather, the effect must be appreciable. That means there must be sufficient impairment to be recognized and estimated, for a proper finding that defendant was impaired. This is analogous to factors such as red glassy eyes, odor of alcohol, slurred speech, disheveled clothing, and poor eye hand coordination.

The opinion of a law enforcement officer, for instance, has consistently been held sufficient evidence of impairment, provided that it is not solely based on the odor of alcohol. The officer's opinion of a defendant being "impaired" must be supported by observations of faulty driving or other conduct demonstrating probable cause of mental or physical impairment (hence the use of physical testing like walking a strait line).

Note that it is not a defense in North Carolina for the impairing substance to be a lawfully prescribed prescription medication. Further note that under subdivision (1) it is not necessary to have “blown” or taken a breathalyzer test to be convicted.

Sentencing possibilities

The ramifications of a drunk driving conviction in North Carolina include mandatory alcohol assessment and treatment, community service and probation, fines, court costs, increased insurance rates, mandatory jail time; suspension, revocation, or loss of a driver’s license; and vehicle immobilization or vehicle forfeiture. A charge of Driving While Impaired (DWI) is a serious offense, and in North Carolina mandates:

Immediate revocation of driver’s license for no less than 30 days
Revocation of driver’s license for one year after the first conviction
Fines up to $4,000
Up to 2 years in jail

License suspension

While your license is automatically suspended for 30 days once charged, you may be able to get your license back after 10 days if you:

Get a certified 7 year driving history (you may obtain this through the DMV)
Get an alcohol assessment and petition for a limited driving privilege
Obtain a DL123 from your automobile insurance carrier
Present the requisite information to the judge and file a copy of the executed limited driving privilege

If you are convicted on a first offense, there is a possibility that you may be able to get a temporary driving privilege for a period of one year until your suspension ends.

If you have been charged with Impaired Driving, please contact us today for specific information regarding your individual situation and to schedule an appointment for a free consultation with one of our experienced Criminal Law attorneys.

Areas We Serve

The attorneys of Hopper Law Firm have practiced law predominantly in Raleigh, North Carolina (Wake County) and the greater Triangle area since 1994. However, depending upon the nature of the case, we often serve clients in the surrounding counties, including: Durham, Chatham, Orange, Johnston, Franklin, Harnett, Guilford, and Cumberland.