One of the first thing our experienced Charlotte DUI attorney will due upon meeting a client (the defendant) is examine the factors that went into the DUI arrest. Most of those factors have to do with the events before the arrest for drunk driving. The lawyer will examine the defendant’s driving, their performance of the field sobriety tests, and physical appearance when they were arrested. These factors are relevant prior to arrest, and not relevant after arrest.
In Charlotte, Mecklenburg County one of the factors our DUI lawyers will ask a client about is the amount of time that he or she was held after the arrest for drunk driving. This information is particularly relevant because the longer a person is held it arguably negatively impacts a person’s ability to gather information for the defense of the charge. The North Carolina Supreme Court has held: “When one is taken into police custody for an offense of which intoxication is an essential element, time is of the essence. Intoxication does not last….if one accused of driving while intoxicated is to have witnesses for his defense, he must have access to his counsel, friends, relatives, or some disinterested person within a relatively short time after his arrest.”
The rationale is behind the holding is clear, if a person is denied access to his witnesses for a long period of time after his arrest, then the only witnesses to the crime are the police officers and jailers who are detaining him. The Supreme Court made it clear that it would not: “assume both the infallibility and credibility of the State’s witnesses as well as the certitude of their tests.” For this reason the Court has found in some cases that the detention of a person cited with a North Carolina DWI violates the individual’s Due Process rights under the United States Constitution. Thus, dependent upon the length of the detention and a number of other factors, the judge on a given case is sometimes forced to dismiss the case based upon the Constitutional violation.
After discussing your case with an experienced and seasoned DUI defense attorney of Rosensteel Fleishman you rights will be made clear to you as well as potential avenues to fight your Charlotte DUI charge. For this and many other reasons it is important that you contact an experienced DUI attorney at Rosensteel Fleishman, PLLC, to handle your North Carolina DWI/DUI.