Driving While Impaired or DWI charge offense information for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.
Driving Under the Influence of Opioids Spikes More than two million Americans are addicted to, or abuse opioids. Opioids are a class of drugs which include illegal drugs such as heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and pain relievers legally prescribed by treating physicians, such as, among others, oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, and…
Fourth Amendment Rights The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.…
Distinction Between DUI and DWI DUI designates driving under the influence, while DWI refers to driving while intoxicated. However, North Carolina’s Safe Roads Act of 1983 repealed previous laws on drunk driving and placed all drug and alcohol related driving laws under a single offense, which is driving while impaired (DWI). BAC Blood alcohol concentration—or…
The Court of Appeals issued an opinion today which involved the issue of retrograde extrapolation and expert testimony. The court applied the Daubert standard for expert testimony under the amended Rule 702. However, its conclusion in allowing the expert testimony did not differ significantly from the standard previously used under Howerton. In State v. Turbyfill,…
A Mothers Against Drunk Driving activist in Asheville is advocating for harsher penalties for those convicted of DWI while driving with a child in their car. Although people who are charged with impaired driving while driving with a child in their car are also often charged with misdemeanor child abuse, the activist argues that this…
Fourteen people were arrested for impaired driving at a checkpoint in Raleigh this weekend. The checkpoint was held from 11 p.m. Friday night until 2 a.m. Saturday morning. In addition to the 14 arrests for DWI, there were also 4 driving-while-license revoked charges, 2 other traffic charges, 5 drug charges, and 2 DWI-related vehicle seizures.…
Last month, the Raleigh News & Observer saw a battle of editorials relating to the bills in the North Carolina General Assembly that would require all people convicted of DWI to use an ignition interlock for a period of time. An editorial on July 23rd by the News & Observer Editorial Board argued for the…
Today, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion today which examined the extension of a traffic stop to conduct a dog sniff in a post-Rodriguez world. Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s issuing of Rodriguez v. United States in April of this year, the officer would have been able to use a de…
The Charlotte Observer reported last week about a rather unusual encounter with a man who was arrested for impaired driving. The York police found the man trapped in his truck after he was involved in an accident on Friday night. Emergency responders had to force the doors of truck open to get the man out…
The Charlotte Observer reports that a law enforcement campaign over the Fourth of July weekend resulted in the arrest of 42 impaired drivers in a nine-county area around and including Mecklenburg County. There were also many citations issued for driver’s license violations, seat belt violations, and registration violations. During this campaign, more than 400 drivers…