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A man has fought his driving while impaired charges since his was pulled over in July 2010. The case has made its way to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and back to court in front of a jury. The jury acquitted the man of DWI after trial.

The man says that an officer with the Winston-Salem Police sat on his chest to obtain a blood sample without a warrant during the DWI investigation. The man argued that the warrantless procedure was a violation of his constitutional rights.

In the recent North Carolina DWI battle, the man was originally convicted of DWI in Forsythe District Court, but appealed to Superior Court. There, the judge dismissed the charge. The case found its way to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, which reversed the Superior Court ruling and sent the case back down. The man took his DWI charge before a jury recently. The results of the blood sample were suppressed at trial.

The jury heard testimony about the alleged incident from July 2010. Police claim that a Winston-Salem Police officer visited a gas station to stop a car for an alleged taillight violation. That car was not associated with the DWI allegations. Instead, police claimed that after the officer let the driver with the broken taillight go, he noticed a truck parked at the gas station and ran its plates.

The officer says that the registered owner of the truck showed as having a suspended driver’s license and the cop looked to investigate that issue. Police say the owner was in the driver’s seat of the parked truck. However, the officer reportedly never found any keys to the parked truck.

Police claim that the driver was agitated, and that the officer suspected that the driver was under the influence of cocaine. The man ultimately was hauled down to the hospital for a blood test, leading to the legal arguments seeking suppression of the evidence.

When the case was remanded for trial, prosecutors argued that the man’s agitated state and alleged poor performance on field sobriety tests were sufficient to show that the man was under the influence that night.

The criminal defense argued before the jury that the man was agitated because his constitutional rights were being violated. Police never saw the man driving the truck, and never saw keys. The defendant says that he had not been driving at all. The man reportedly admitted to having a beer and a drink that night, but never drove. He says that he was retrieving change from the truck to pay for something at the gas station. A video of the incident reportedly shows that the officer never saw the man drive the truck.

Friday, a Forsythe County jury spent about an hour deliberating before returning a not guilty verdict on the DWI charge.

The issue of whether a police officer can compel a blood sample without a warrant in a routine DWI case raises an interesting constitutional issue, which the United States Supreme Court is currently considering. In the next entry, we will discuss that issue in more detail.

Source: Winston-Salem Journal, “Winston-Salem man who alleged that police violated his rights acquitted of DWI,” Michael Hewlett, March 15, 2013

Greenville DUI Attorney Blog | North Carolina Underage Drinking Lawyer | Pitt County First DUI Law Firm

Throughout the year, North Carolina law enforcement agencies use saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints during operations to enforce North Carolina driving while impaired laws. But many holidays bring extra attention for statewide DWI enforcement efforts. Many people all across the country attend parties or go to bars to drink green beer and party on St. Patrick’s Day. This year, the annual unofficial spring holiday falls on a Sunday.

Law enforcement agencies across the state are planning on extra enforcement efforts throughout the weekend in the belief that St. Patrick’s celebrations will extend to the entire weekend, beginning Friday.

Local agencies in Pitt County generally have some kind of extra enforcement plans for events or holidays that police believe may bring out more revelers than the average weekend. State officials say that law enforcement agencies statewide will be participating in a St. Patrick’s Day “Booze It and Lose It” DWI enforcement campaign.

This year, officials from the Governor’s Highway Safety Program say that law enforcement will unveil a new North Carolina BATMobile during the weekend. The concept of the BATMobile is not new, we have discussed to units in previous posts. However, state officials say the new 40 foot mobile unit has two magistrate stations and six breath testing stations to facilitate DWI investigations and allegations.

St. Patrick’s Day fell on a Saturday last year. With the day falling on the weekend law enforcement charged 819 people with DWI or underage drinking and driving across the state. As we reported last year, more than 100 of the 800 plus drunk driving arrests last year involved underage drinkers. This year the weekend DWI enforcement campaign will run Friday through Sunday March 17.

Source: WECT, “BATMobile to be unveiled in St. Patrick’s Day ‘Booze It & Lose It’,” Debra Worley, March 13, 2013

Greenville DUI Attorney Blog | North Carolina Underage Drinking Lawyer | Pitt County First DUI Law Firm

A spokesperson for the North Carolina Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement says that after the party is over, an alleged underage drinker may not be free from being charged later for an alleged alcohol offense. The ALE special agent made the statement as officials announced charges brought after an alleged Johnston County, North Carolina party last month. A 21-year-old was charged for allegedly buying 60 beers that were given to underage drinkers.

ALE officials say that an 18-year-old high school student was killed in a crash involving a driver who had allegedly attended the party. Police charged the 17-year-old accused of driving a truck that rolled over February 16 with felony death by vehicle, DWI and underage DUI after the wreck.

Thursday, ALE officials announced charges against the 21-year-old and a 16-year-old who is accused of hosting the underage drinking party. Police opened a probe into the party after the car accident, searching for names of other alleged attendees at the party.

Based upon that investigation, ALE agents say that about a dozen people will be facing underage alcohol charges. Some of the teens are also accused of possessing marijuana at the party. The special agent said in announcing the charges that, “Kids should know that even though the police don’t show up at the party they can still be charged.”

Underage drinking charges in North Carolina can bring long-lasting consequences for a person convicted of the charges. For anyone over the age of 16, charges are filed in adult court. Signing a ticket and paying a fine to get it over with, or otherwise simply pleading guilty to a charge, creates a criminal record. For high school kids, that means background checks for future jobs, college, joining the military, or other life events may turn up a criminal record.

Source: The Smithfield Herald, “12 people face alcohol-related charges after wreck that killed a Johnston County teen,” Thomasi McDonald, March 6, 2013

Greenville DUI Attorney Blog | North Carolina Underage Drinking Lawyer | Pitt County First DUI Law Firm

It is no secret that an arrest for driving while impaired in North Carolina can have serious consequences for the driver accused of drunk driving. When the holder of a commercial driver’s license is arrested for DWI, the issue can have significant impact on the driver’s livelihood. However, the North Carolina Court of Appeals recently ruled that a one-year revocation of a CDL following a DWI arrest is sufficiently punitive to bar a later prosecution in criminal court on DWI charges.

On the Fourth of July in 2010, a truck driver was arrested for DWI while driving a non-commercial vehicle in Duplin County, North Carolina. Following that arrest, a Duplin County Magistrate seized the trucker’s CDL and revoked the commercial license for 30 days under North Carolina law.

The driver reportedly did not challenge that revocation order within the 10 day time frame to contest the revocation. Slightly more than two weeks later, the man received notice from the state that his CDL was disqualified for one year under North Carolina law.

Generally, courts have construed such license revocations as civil in nature. By August, the man had paid the civil revocation fees and retrieved his CDL, but he was prohibited from lawfully driving a commercial vehicle until the end of the CDL disqualification, which was one year after the DWI arrest on July 4, 2011. The man was transferred to a different job during the summer of 2010, but eventually lost that job in a staffing cut.

The man later challenged his DWI charges in criminal court, including a DWI defense argument that the CDL revocation of one year bars a later prosecution for DWI in criminal Court. In the next post, this blog will continue discussing how the courts have handled the Double Jeopardy argument.

Sources:

• Jacksonville Daily News, “Court: Prosecuting truck drivers who lose CDL for DWI is double jeopardy,” Lindell Kay, Feb. 24, 2013
• North Carolina Court of Appeals, “State v. McKenzie, No. COA12-436, Jan. 15, 2013

Greenville DUI Attorney Blog | North Carolina Underage Drinking Lawyer | Pitt County First DUI Law Firm

In the last post, this blog began discussing a recent ruling in the North Carolina Court of Appeals, which found that a prosecution for DWI following a one-year commercial driver’s license revocation under North Carolina law is barred by the Double Jeopardy clause of the Constitution.

In late August 2011, the man sought to have the criminal DWI charges dismissed. One of his criminal DWI defense arguments was that the CDL revocation was sufficiently punitive to be a criminal punishment, and therefore barred prosecution of the DWI charges under the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Constitution (the man raised a separate argument, which was not decided in the appellate court ruling).

The Duplin County District Court agreed and dismissed the DWI charges. Prosecutors appealed to Superior Court. There, the DWI charges were reinstated. The man took the issues to the Court of Appeals.

In January, a three judge appellate panel reversed the Superior Court ruling, finding that the one-year license revocation was sufficiently criminal in nature to bar the state from pursuing the DWI charges in criminal court. The appellate panel recognized that shorter license revocations have generally been deemed civil in nature, and therefore do not act to bar a criminal prosecution under the Constitution. However, the length of the revocation-one year-is lengthy enough to constitute a criminal punishment.

Prosecutors reportedly are planning to seek a stay of the appellate ruling. The ruling was a split decision, with two judges ruling in favor of the criminal defense argument and one judge dissenting. The ruling is expected to be considered in the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Sources:

• Jacksonville Daily News, “Court: Prosecuting truck drivers who lose CDL for DWI is double jeopardy,” Lindell Kay, Feb. 24, 2013
• North Carolina Court of Appeals, “State v. McKenzie, No. COA12-436, Jan. 15, 2013

Greenville DUI Attorney Blog | North Carolina Underage Drinking Lawyer | Pitt County First DUI Law Firm

Earlier this month, this blog discussed habitual driving while impaired charges. North Carolina law allows authorities to seek felony DWI charges against drivers with repeat DWI offenses within a 10 year time frame. A fourth conviction of DWI within 10 years qualifies as a habitual DWI offense, which carries the potential for serious consequences, starting with a mandatory minimum prison sentence.

Lawmakers are considering a change to North Carolina law to allow prosecutors to pursue more felony DWIs under the habitual DWI provisions of the law. A bill has been introduced in the House that would somewhat modify the 10-year look-back period. The House bill proposes to eliminate the 10-year period for people who have been previously convicted of a habitual DWI offense.

In other words, a fourth offense within 10 years would still qualify for a habitual DWI charge, but a driver previously convicted of the felony level DWI would qualify for new habitual DWI charges in North Carolina regardless of the timing of the previous habitual conviction.

Authorities do not know how many people have avoided habitual DWI charges due to the current version of the look-back period. Twenty two sponsors have signed on to the measure, known as House Bill 31.

The measure reportedly was prompted after a 53-year-old habitual DWI offender was released on parole in 2010. He had been sentenced in 1993 to a 40-year prison term. He had spent 17 years behind bars before his parole. Authorities say that he was convicted of DWI in Guilford County in 2011 and has more recently been charged in Forsythe County. Neither of the recent offenses qualified as habitual DWI offenses because the most recent prior occurred before the 17 years the man spent in prison.

Source: News-Record, “DWI bill would remove N.C. loophole,” Travis Fain, Feb. 14, 2013

Greenville DUI Attorney Blog | North Carolina Underage Drinking Lawyer | Pitt County First DUI Law Firm

Police say that a 20-year-old attended an alleged underage drinking party in Columbus County, North Carolina last May. Authorities claim that the man chose to drive after leaving the party-his friend, a 21-year-old man, was riding as a passenger in the car. The younger man who is accused of underage drinking and driving crashed with his friend asleep in the car, according to authorities.

The young man was charged with felony death by motor vehicle. He has now entered a plea deal to resolve the felony DWI charges.

Police say that the young man left the party during the early morning. Witnesses say that other partygoers protested, but the young man drove off anyway. Authorities say that the young man lost control and struck a tree. Police estimate that the car was moving 100 miles per hour as it struck the tree, splitting the car in half. The driver survived injuries he sustained in the crash. His friend did not.

The man entered a plea agreement. He pled guilty to felony death by motor vehicle and underage DUI charges. On the felony count, he was sentenced to a six-month active split sentence, which involves a three year term of supervised probation. The man was given a straight active sentence on the misdemeanor underage drinking and driving conviction, which he was ordered to serve at the conclusion of the six-month active sentence on the felony.

Sentencing issues in North Carolina can be very complex. Generally, an active sentence is one involving time to be served “actively” behind bars. A split sentence can involve active time, followed by supervised probation and is considered an intermediate form of sentencing.

Judges may weigh aggravated and mitigating factors in sentencing for many offenses that do not involve mandatory sentencing provisions. Cases may, at times, be resolved under a plea agreement. Each case, and any potential plea negotiations, generally involves the facts and circumstances surrounding the law and the specific case.

Source: WECT, “Man pleads guilty to charges in connection to friend’s death,” Feb. 10, 2013

Greenville DUI Attorney Blog | North Carolina Underage Drinking Lawyer | Pitt County First DUI Law Firm

RCMP were called to the scene of a two-vehicle crash on the north Perimeter Highway on Friday morning.
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A North Carolina State trooper was arrested in Hendersonville Monday morning for allegedly driving drunk while on duty. The Highway Patrol says that the trooper met with a sergeant in the parking lot outside Sam’s in Hendersonville Monday morning.

The trooper reportedly was in his squad as he talked with his supervisor, a sergeant with the Highway Patrol. During the encounter, the sergeant claims that the 37-year-old smelled of alcohol, had glassy eyes and was slurring his speech during the conversation.

Those types of allegations are common in drunk driving arrest reports in North Carolina. Generally, many people are aware that North Carolina sets the legal limit to drive at 0.08 percent blood alcohol level.

Regardless of a driver’s size, experience, or any other factor individual to the driver, the state presumes impairment at a 0.08 percent or greater BAC level. However, police reports may often include descriptions of an officer’s alleged observations of a driver to support their alleged suspicions and to show alleged indicia of impairment.

The Highway Patrol says that the sergeant suspected that his colleague may have been under the influence as the two spoke in the parking lot. Later, authorities claim that the trooper took a breath test, which registered a 0.08 percent BAC reading.

The trooper has been charged with DWI and is scheduled to appear in court March 21. The North Carolina Highway Patrol says that the trooper resigned from the law enforcement agency after the DWI arrest. The trooper had been with the force for seven years and had been assigned to the Hendersonville office since 2007.

Sources:

• WLOS, “On-Duty Trooper DWI in Patrol Car,” Feb. 6, 2013
• WBTV, “Trooper charged with DWI while on duty, resigns after arrest, troopers say,” Nick Needham, Feb. 7, 2013

Greenville DUI Attorney Blog | North Carolina Underage Drinking Lawyer | Pitt County First DUI Law Firm

A woman reportedly lost control of her car in Wilmington, North Carolina Tuesday. The accident was reported around 3:15 in the afternoon. While car accidents may occur on a frequent basis anywhere in North Carolina.

But in the Wilmington crash, law enforcement claims that the 48-year-old woman had taken some unidentified prescription medication. Police further accuse the woman of being impaired by illegal drugs, although authorities are not identifying what substances they believe the woman had taken.

North Carolina’s DWI laws apply to prescription medications and other substances. Many people who require prescription medications may be surprised to find that law enforcement suspects impairment when a driver has followed a doctor’s instructions.

In the Wilmington investigation, the details surrounding law enforcement’s suspicions are not clear from the media. Authorities claim that the woman was traveling north on River Road when her car drifted toward the shoulder. Police claim that the woman overcorrected and crossed through the lanes, eventually running off the left side of the road.

Witnesses rushed to the aid of the accident victim. One passing motorist provided the woman with a blanket at the accident scene. Authorities say that when the woman’s car drove off the road, and the car rolled over. The woman was ejected from the vehicle and she suffered injuries.

She was taken to New Hanover Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Law enforcement now accuses her of several charges, including DWI, failing to maintain a lane and failing to use a seatbelt.

Source: Star News, “Driver charged with DWI after rollover on River Road,” Brian Freskos, Jan. 22, 2013

• Our firm provides criminal defense for people accused of DWI in the Pitt County area of North Carolina, including DWI charges that allege prescription medication or impairment based upon other substances. For more information, please visit the Greenville DWI defense page.

Greenville DUI Attorney Blog | North Carolina Underage Drinking Lawyer | Pitt County First DUI Law Firm