For years North Carolina, like many states, permitted the State to introduce the results of a DWI defendant’s breath test. That meant that the Defendant’s attorney would have no opportunity to question the breath analyst on the stand about the procedure used, whether the breath analyst was certified at the time the test was [...]
In North Carolina, a DWI conviction results in a revoked license, possible jail time, costly fines, and a tarnished record. The good news is that you have rights, rights as sacred as any principle under our Constitution. You deserve a lawyer who forces the State to prove every element of its case, as if your life depended upon it. And if the time ever comes when you might be found guilty, you need a lawyer who can plead for compassion…
Reason magazine has an article by Radley Balko about MADD and its influence in the current administration:
Hurley’s pending appointment is bad news for social drinkers, motorists, and anyone interested in freedom of movement and less hassle on the roadways. Hurley is an anti-alcohol zealot, and a longtime proponent of just about any highway regulation that’s [...]
In North Carolina, you have the right to refuse to take a breathalyzer test. In fact, the person administering the test – the police officer himself or the breathalyzer technician – is required to provide you with a written explanation of your rights.
If you are able to have someone – including an attorney – [...]
The police officer can ask you to give blood instead of or along with blowing into a breathalyzer. Again, you are not required to give blood, but because North Carolina is an “implied consent” state, your license will be revoked for 1 year if you refuse. (See above for my discussion of breathalyzer refusals.)
A [...]
It’s true. The breathalyzer is hunk of junk. I could use worse language. But I won’t. First, the science behind it is pretty weak. It doesn’t measure your actual Blood Alcohol Concentration. Instead, it tries to guess your BAC by measuring the amount of alcohol by-products in your breath.
The [...]
If you blew a .08, and if your lawyer cannot challenge the admission of that into evidence (using the techniques described above regarding Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III), and if your lawyer can’t show that the number you blew was within the margin of error of the breathalyzer machine, then you stand a [...]
Your attorney will probably recommend that you take a Substance Abuse Assessment.
In order to get a Substance Abuse Assessment, you will need to set up an appointment with a qualified agency – usually a private treatment center. You will a private, one-on-one session with a counselor for about 40 minutes. The counselor will [...]
If the officer did not find enough evidence to arrest you, the officer can let you go, maybe with a warning.
But if the officer does think he has enough evidence that you’ve committed a DWI, the officer can arrest you. At this point, you will be handcuffed and placed into the officer’s car.
The officer [...]
Phase III is the final phase before the officer arrests the driver on a DWI.
The main focus during Phase 3 is on the driver’s performance on the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs). During this Phase the officer might also ask the driver to blow into a Portable Breath Test (PBT, or hand-held breathalyzer) [...]