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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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) [...]
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The next step in a DWI arrest is Phase II: Personal Contact. During this Phase, the police officer will approach the car, and observe the driver, the driver’s car, and any of the driver’s actions which might show that the driver has been drinking.
For instance, the officer will look for such things as:
• bloodshot [...]
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An officer’s first job is to watch the moving car to note any initial cues of a possible DWI violation. At this point, the officer must decide whether there is enough reason to stop the car.
If the officer has a “reasonable articulable suspicion” that the driver is impaired, he can stop the car. Or [...]
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In the United States and in North Carolina, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. You’ve got your license back. You can live your life in the meantime. Every so often you’ll have to go to court.
Many of my clients are anxious to get this unpleasant experience behind them. My advice: I’m [...]
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Let’s talk a little bit about your case and how your lawyer will defend you against the charges. Each case depends upon the facts and circumstances that led to the arrest and the charge.
You should talk to your DWI lawyer about how the facts in your case might affect the outcome. What follows [...]
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