News

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,…

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…

The Fourth of July is a time for celebration. Many people celebrate with fireworks. In this area, people also celebrate by spending time on the water in their boats, and it is not unheard of to also celebrate with alcohol. Unfortunately, mixing boating and alcohol can be not only illegal, but also dangerous. The Charlotte…

The Charlotte Observer reports that there are 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 ignition interlock device has been described by the North Carolina Court of Appeals as a device which requires a driver to pass…

In the 2014 case State v. Smathers, the North Carolina Court of Appeals formally recognized the community caretaker doctrine as a basis for making a traffic stop without reasonable suspicion. Prior to that, the community caretaker doctrine was used only in the context of impounding abandoned vehicles in North Carolina. With the Smathers decision, North…

The Charlotte Observer reports that a woman was arrested early Sunday morning for impaired driving, as well as other charges, after being involved in a car accident which killed her 3-year-old son. Shortly after midnight on Sunday morning, the woman was traveling south on Billy Graham Parkway when she drove off the left side of…

When a person refuses a breath test after being arrested for DWI in North Carolina, his driver’s license is automatically revoked for one year. The defendant can contest this revocation in an  administrative proceeding (separate from the criminal trial for impaired driving) with the DMV. G.S. 20-16.2(d) provides that the hearing is limited to the…

The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion today that held that a voluntary encounter became a seizure for purposes of the Fourth Amendment when the police officer took the defendant’s driver’s license to the police car to run a check on it. The trial court in State v. Leak had held that any…

A study out of Michigan was released today and showed that the use of ignition interlock helps to reduce drunk driving. The North Carolina Court of Appeals has described the ignition interlock device as requiring a driver to pass an alcohol test by blowing into the device. The results are then recorded as logged events. If…

The Charlotte Observer reports that officers of the Wildlife Resources Commission and the State Highway Patrol announced the “On the Road, On the Water, Don’t Drink and Drive Campaign” today. As the weather warms, not only are more boaters expected, but more motorists are expected as well. According to the commander of the State Highway…

The Charlotte Observer reports that last week’s “crossover” deadline killed hundreds of North Carolina bills filed this year. The “crossover” deadline requires that all non-budget bills must have passed either the House or the Senate to be considered by the other chamber during the remainder of the legislative session. Although hundreds of bills were killed…

The Charlotte Observer reports that alcohol was a factor in a deadly boating accident on Lake Norman early this morning. The driver of the boat was killed when the boat hit a dock, causing him to be ejected from the boat. Two other passengers in the boat suffered minor scrapes and bruises but were not…

Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case of Rodriguez v. United States and held that, without reasonable suspicion, a police officer may not extend a traffic stop for crime-related purposes beyond what is reasonably required to complete the traffic-related purposes of the stop, even for a de minimis amount…

The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion yesterday in a case involving the search-incident-to-arrest exception after the defendant was stopped on suspicion of an open container violation. In State v. Fizovic, the court held that the search was justified, although it took place prior the defendant’s arrest, because it was reasonable for the…

The Charlotte Observer reports that a driver was charged yesterday in an accident which occurred Saturday night and resulted in the death of a moped rider. Shortly after 8:00 p.m. on Saturday night, a man was riding his moped on South Boulevard. He stopped his moped, while waiting to turn into a shopping center. While…

Last weekend, North Carolina released the numbers from its most recent Booze It and Lose It campaign, which was held from March 13 through March 17 and meant to encourage those out celebrating St. Patrick’s Day to do so safely. The numbers of DWIs in both the whole state and in Mecklenburg County were down…

Yesterday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case State v. Wainwright, which involved the issue of using an observation of weaving as reasonable suspicion for a traffic stop in a DWI case. The court held that the officer who made the stop had reasonable suspicion to stop the defendant after…

Today, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case State v. McDonald which set out the appropriate framework under which to determine the constitutionality of a checkpoint. The court determined that the trial court did not conduct the necessary analysis and remanded the case for appropriate findings. On March 11, 2010,…

The Charlotte Observer reports that a man involved in a “fiery head-on wreck” earlier this month had consumed up to 20 beers before getting into his car prior to the collision. On February 7, the man’s Suburban crossed the median and collided head-on with a pickup truck. The Suburban burst into flames as a result…

A person charged with a DWI who was driving with a child in the car at the time of the violation faces a significantly more serious punishment than he would have if the child had not been in the car. After a person is convicted of DWI in North Carolina, his sentence is determined based…

Since the US Supreme Court issued its opinion in the case Missouri v. McNeely in 2013, there has been discussion about how its application will affect states’ implied consent laws. The Fourth Amendment protects us against unreasonable searches and seizures and a breath test or a blood test is considered a search. Warrantless searches are…

WSOC-TV recently investigated repeat drunk drivers who remain on the roads and the effectiveness of legislation passed in 2011 known as Laura’s Law. Laura’s Law was named after a 17-year-old girl from Gastonia who was killed in a car accident with a drunk driver. The drunk driver had three prior convictions for DWI. Laura’s Law…

The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion this morning which it stated served “as a reminder that, unless our Supreme Court holds otherwise, the Fourth Amendment’s exclusionary rule does not apply in civil proceedings such as driver’s license revocation hearings, even if those proceedings could be viewed as quasi-criminal in nature.” In Combs…

The Fourth Amendment protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures. Traffic stops are considered seizures under the Fourth Amendment and require that the officer making the stop has reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. In certain instances, a driver’s evasive actions can support an officer’s reasonable suspicion. However, for a driver’s actions to be considered evasive,…

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Rodriguez v. United States, the case from the 8th Circuit that involved the issue of whether a police officer could cause a de minimis delay for a dog sniff in an already completed traffic stop. The defendant was stopped by the officer and issued a warning…

A DWI arrest all starts with a traffic stop. But an officer does not have unlimited discretion as to who he may stop. The Fourth Amendment protects us against unreasonable searches and seizures and requires that an officer must have “reasonable suspicion” that the driver has committed a crime or infraction to make a traffic…

The oral arguments in Rodriguez v. United States are scheduled for next Wednesday. Rodriguez is a case from the 8th Circuit involving the extension of a traffic stop for 7-8 minutes to conduct a dog sniff after issuing a warning. The 8th Circuit held that this extension was a de minimis delay. But other states…

Over the years, many groups and people have attempted to reduce the problem of drunk driving, especially among young people. A defense attorney in Colorado Springs, Colorado recently proposed a new effort to reduce drunk driving among high school students. The attorney announced an essay contest (the First Step Scholarship), the winner of which will…

The North Carolina Court of Appeals capped off 2014 by issuing a number of opinions. Among them was State v. Sisk, which involved a defendant convicted of habitual impaired driving and challenging the admissibility of his blood test results. In Sisk, the defendant was driving a motor home around 5:10 p.m. A trooper on patrol…

After a person is convicted of DWI in North Carolina, his sentence is determined based upon the balancing of grossly aggravating factors, aggravating factors, and mitigating factors. North Carolina statute G.S. 20-179(c) states that “[a]t the sentencing hearing, based upon the evidence presented at trial and in the hearing, the judge, or the jury in…

The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case State v. Shaw yesterday which involved a defendant arrested for DWI. The court held that the officer who made the stop had reasonable suspicion to justify the stop based on statements from other officers that the defendant was weaving in her lane. Under…

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion in Heien v. North Carolina, the broken brake light case from North Carolina that we have discussed in our posts a few times. In an 8-1 ruling (only Justice Sotomayor dissented), the Court held that because the officer’s mistake of law was reasonable, there was reasonable suspicion to…

Earlier this year, the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that Level Four sentences are not presumptive in the DWI case, State v. Geisslercrain. The defendant argued that the trial judge’s (instead of the jury’s) finding of an aggravating factor which led to the imposition of a Level Four sentence enhanced the defendant’s sentence beyond…

We have previously discussed the use of retrograde extrapolation in DWI cases in North Carolina. The North Carolina Supreme Court described retrograde extrapolation as follows: a mathematical analysis in which a known blood alcohol test result is used to determine what an individual’s blood alcohol level would have been at a specified earlier time. The…

The past two days, we have discussed the North Carolina Court of Appeals opinion in the case State v. Roberts, issued Tuesday. But Roberts was not the only DWI case to come out of the court of appeals on Tuesday. In the case State v. Chavez, the defendant argued that he had a right to…

Yesterday’s post examined the gross impairment discussion in the North Carolina Court of Appeals’ opinion State v. Roberts, issued Tuesday. However, this was not the only argument raised by the defendant in Roberts. Today, we will look at the argument the defendant made regarding the failure of the trooper to meet the observation period requirement…

Yesterday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case State v. Roberts, a DWI case which dealt, in part, with the aggravating sentencing factor of a blood alcohol content of 0.15 or more. The defendant argued that the statutory provision stating that the chemical results presented at trial are conclusively sufficient…

Yesterday, several new laws became effective in North Carolina. Among those new laws is a law that makes it easier to determine whether a person convicted of DWI will serve time in jail or in prison. The new law, S.L. 2014-100, applies to sentences for misdemeanor impaired driving which are imposed on or after January…

The Charlotte Observer reports that 10 DWI arrests were made at a DWI checkpoint held late Friday night and early Saturday morning. The checkpoint was located in the 9200 block of South Boulevard and took place from 11 p.m. Friday night until 3 a.m. Saturday morning. In addition to  the 10 DWI arrests made, police…

Earlier this week, North Carolina Public Radio reported on the backlog at the state crime lab and solutions proposed by a working group to deal with this backlog. The report cites two causes of this backlog – the first being a difficulty in finding and paying qualified staff. The second cause has to do with…

WSOC-TV reports that a drunken bicyclist was arrested at a Taco Bell drive-through in Florida after employees would not serve him. The bicyclist placed his order at the drive-through window just after 3 a.m. as the restaurant was closing. When the employees would not serve him, the bicyclist refused to leave the window, so the…

The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion in State v. Ricks today which discussed the issue of whether a cut through across a vacant lot was a “public vehicular area” under the DWI statute. The court held that the area did not meet the definition and reversed the defendant’s conviction. In Ricks, an…

Usually when we think of a police officer trying to stop DWIs, we think of traffic stops and checkpoints that might lead to field sobriety tests and breathalyzers. The Charlotte Observer reports that Mecklenburg County ABC law enforcement have been trying a new tactic over the past year to prevent DWIs. It is as simple…

Yesterday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case State v. Shepley, which involved the issue of whether a blood sample taken from a DWI defendant pursuant to a search warrant (after the defendant refused a breath test) had to comply with the requirements of G.S. 20-16.2. The court of appeals…

Last month, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in the case Rodriguez v. United States, which came out of the 8th Circuit and involved the de minimis delay in a traffic stop to conduct a dog sniff. In Rodriguez, the 8th Circuit held that extending the stop for 7-8 minutes after the issuance of…

As part of an NCDOT “Booze It and Lose It” campaign this weekend, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department conducted a DWI checkpoint from 11 p.m. Thursday night until 3:30 a.m. Friday morning in the 2400 block of Park Road. Twenty-two total charges were issued in connection with the checkpoint, including 10 DWI charges, 6 expired…

In many DWI cases, a law enforcement officer will testify that after making certain observations of the defendant, he formed an opinion that the defendant had consumed a “sufficient amount of alcohol” that the defendant was “appreciably impaired.” Sometimes a defendant will argue that this opinion should not be admissible. However, North Carolina courts typically…

A new bill passed last month extends the option of conditional discharge to a wider range of crimes than was available before. A conditional discharge is when a defendant is found guilty by a judge or jury but is placed on probation without the judge entering a judgment in the case. If the defendant successfully…

The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion in a DWI warrantless blood draw case yesterday, State v. McCrary. The court remanded the case to the trial court for additional findings regarding whether exigent circumstances existed. First, let’s look at the detailed facts that are included in the court’s opinion. A deputy went to…

North Carolina statute requires that breath tests in connection with impaired driving offenses be given at least two times and sequentially. The applicable statute, G.S. 20-139.1(b3), provides that Sequential Breath Tests Required. – The methods governing the administration of chemical analyses of the breath shall require the testing of at least duplicate sequential breath samples.…

If an officer stops a driver for reasonable suspicion of impaired driving, but then the officer subsequently determines that the driver is not impaired, must the officer immediately let the driver go? It depends on whether there is a drug-sniffing dog on the scene. The Fourth Amendment protects us against unreasonable searches and seizures and…

A typical DWI scenario might be a police officer observes a car repeatedly cross the center line, and then the officer stops the driver based on reasonable suspicion of impaired driving. However, what if instead the police officer observed a more minor traffic infraction such as a seatbelt violation or a burned out headlight and…

Earlier today, a Hickory woman was convicted of her fourth impaired driving offense in less than ten years. She was first convicted of DWI in Catawba County in July 2005 and July 2007. She was later convicted of DWI in Alexander County in March 2010. The latest conviction stems from an offense back in December…

The US Supreme Court had a busy day yesterday to begin its new term. Not only did they send the media into a frenzy by declining to review several same-sex marriage cases, effectively legalizing gay marriage in potentially 11 more states, they also heard oral arguments in the case Heien v. North Carolina. Heien is…

If you’ve checked the weather report, you know that fall is in the air this weekend. And with fall comes the start of a new term of the United States Supreme Court. On Monday, the Supreme Court will begin its new term by hearing arguments in the case Heien v. North Carolina, which I discussed…

The Raleigh New and Observer reported that a man with four DWI charges was in court again on Monday. The man’s name is Rabah Samara, and his first DWI charge occurred in 2003 when he drove a friend’s car away from an accident which resulted in the death of Stephen Gates, a Tar Heels Sports…

The Charlotte Observer reports that nine people were arrested for impaired driving at a checkpoint on Albemarle Road last night. The checkpoint was set up by the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and its DWI Taskforce and took place from 11 p.m. last night until 3:00 a.m. this morning. In addition to the nine arrests made…

Last week the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case State v. Shaw which held that a defendant who pleads guilty to impaired driving does not have a statutory right to appeal the sentence imposed when the State fails to to give notice of its intent to seek a grossly aggravating…

On Tuesday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case State v. Townsend. Although the court of appeals had originally issued an opinion in the case back in August (discussed here, here and here), that opinion was subsequently withdrawn and replaced with the one issued Tuesday. The content of the opinion…

Yesterday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case State. v. Overocker, in which the defendant was involved in a minor car accident after coming out of a bar and subsequently arrested for impaired driving. The court held that a minor accident combined with evidence of alcohol consumption (a positive result…

In most cases involving a person charged with impaired driving, that person is stopped while in the act of driving by a law enforcement officer in a patrol car. However, sometimes police officers are not in a car, but on a bicycle or on foot. The 2013 North Carolina Court of Appeals case, State v.…

After a person has been convicted of DWI, that person’s license may be revoked as a result the conviction for a period of time. Once that revocation period is up, the person’s license is not automatically reinstated. Instead, the person must complete a substance abuse treatment school or program. G.S. 20-17.6 provides that for a…

Automatism or unconsciousness is a defense to a criminal charge when a person is unconscious at the time that he commits the criminal act. The reasoning behind this defense that the a lack of consciousness means that the criminal act was not voluntary and therefore there is no criminal liability. Does this mean that when…

Yesterday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case, State v. Armstrong. Armstrong involved the search of the defendant’s automobile, and the court held that, although it did not meet the exceptions to the warrant requirement set out in Arizona v. Gant, the search was allowed under the “automobile exception.” In…

Violating a traffic law can provide reasonable suspicion for a traffic stop, but sometimes driving behavior that does not violate any traffic law can provide reasonable suspicion to make a traffic stop for DWI. A common example of such behavior is weaving within one’s lane, but another example is a delayed reaction at a green…

A 2012 North Carolina Court of Appeals case addressed the issue of “normal” driving in connection with its analysis to determine whether the officer who stopped the defendant for impaired driving had reasonable suspicion to make that stop. Although certain driving patterns can be considered “normal,” this cannot be the only factor considered when determining…

The Charlotte Observer reported that a man from Conover, North Carolina was convicted of habitual driving while impaired and sentenced to at least one year and three months in prison, but not more than two years and three months in prison. The man’s most recent DWI charge, which led to his habitual DWI offender status,…

The last two days we’ve looked at the recent North Carolina Court of Appeals decision, State v. Townsend, and its discussion of Knoll motions and checkpoint evidence. Today we’ll look at the opinion one more time to see how it addressed the issue of probable cause for a DWI arrest. To briefly review the facts…

On Tuesday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case State v. Townsend. To briefly review the facts, the defendant in Townsend was arrested for DWI after being stopped at a checkpoint. Yesterday, we discussed the part of the opinion dealing with Knoll motions. In addition to filing a Knoll motion,…

Yesterday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion in State v. Townsend which gives further guidance on the issue of Knoll motions.  The court of appeals defined a Knoll motion as a motion which is based on State v. Knoll, 322 N.C. 535, 369 S.E.2d 558 (1988), [and] alleges that a magistrate has…

Yesterday, we discussed the authority of campus police as state universities, such as UNCC, and community colleges, such as CPCC. However, private universities are also permitted to have campus police pursuant to the Campus Police Act in Chapter 74G of the North Carolina General Statutes. The purpose of the Act is to provide police protection…

It’s back to school time, with both UNCC and CPCC starting classes this week. Back to school not only means new books for classes but also celebrating with old and new friends, and unfortunately, sometimes that celebrating can lead to impaired driving. Most people have seen campus police but let’s consider what their authority is…

Retrograde extrapolation has been described by the North Carolina Supreme Court as a mathematical analysis in which a known blood alcohol test result is used to determine what an individual’s blood alcohol level would have been at a specified earlier time. The analysis determines the prior blood alcohol level on the bases of (1) the…

Until recently, North Carolina courts required that weaving within your lane, by itself, is not sufficient to provide reasonable suspicion for a traffic stop, but it could contribute to reasonable suspicion under the totality of the circumstances. To provide reasonable suspicion, at least one other factor had to be present, such as driving at an…

Anyone who has seen a movie or television show involving a person being arrested has heard a police officer recite the Miranda warnings: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…” These warnings originated in the United States Supreme Court case,…

When most people imagine a person charged with impaired driving in North Carolina, they think of a person who has a blood alcohol content (BAC) at 0.08 or above, as determined by a breath or blood test. However, a person can be charged with DWI with an unknown BAC, as well as with a BAC…

Typically when a person is charged with DWI, they submit to a breath or blood test soon after they have been driving so that the test indicates their blood alcohol content (BAC) at the time of their driving. However, what happens when there is a delay between the time the person is driving and the…

Under North Carolina law, if you are charged with DWI and at the time of the violation (1) have a revoked license as a result of a prior DWI or (2) do not have a valid license and are not covered by auto liability insurance, then the vehicle you are driving can be seized. G.S.…

Eight people were charged last night with DWI at a checkpoint set up on South Boulevard. The checkpoint was conducted from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m. by the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department, although officers from the Matthews and UNCC police departments assisted. Including the 8 DWI charges, there were 73 total charges issued at the…

There have been various news reports over the past year about the backlog that exists in the North Carolina state crime lab. Unlike the results of a breath test, which are available relatively quickly for a person charged with DWI, the results of a blood test can take several months, if not years, to obtain…

As of yesterday, the woman arrested last Thursday afternoon for drunk driving in York County was still in jail. The woman initially stopped her car at a stranger’s house to ask about a car she wanted to look at. During the conversation, the stranger suspected that the woman was drunk and called the police after…

Getting your learner’s permit is an exciting rite of passage on your way to adulthood. In North Carolina, anyone under the age of 18 drives with a provisional license subject to the terms of G.S. 20-11. These provisional licenses are divided into three categories: Levels 1, 2 and 3. Level 1 is referred to as…

The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion today dealing with the topic of warrantless blood draws. The case, State v. Granger, is only the second court of appeals case on this topic since last year’s U.S. Supreme Court case Missouri v. McNeely, which held that the dissipation of alcohol in the bloodstream does…

The Charlotte Observer reported that a man who was involved in a scooter accident in June died on Friday. The man was driving his scooter around 5:30 a.m. on June 24th in the University City area, when he ran the scooter off the right side of his road and crashed. He was taken to the…

Many people could identify a potential impaired driver they might see on the road by pointing to signs such as weaving while driving, driving with headlights off, or driving particularly slowly, especially when that driver is doing so late at night in the vicinity of bars. A concerned citizen might make a 911 call to…

The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. The North Carolina Supreme Court has held that “[a]n investigatory stop must be justified by ‘a reasonable suspicion, based on objective facts, that the individual is involved in criminal activity.’” For a stop to be justified by reasonable suspicion, the stop must be based on specific…

Yesterday, the North Carolina Court of Appeals decided the case State v. Cottrell and held that an officer is strictly limited to the original purpose of a traffic stop and may not extend the stop, even briefly, without either the defendant’s consent or reasonable and articulable suspicion of criminal activity. In Cottrell, the defendant was…

In North Carolina, a DWI conviction will result in a revocation of your driver’s license. G.S. 20-17(a)(2) provides that the DMV must revoke a driver’s license for Either of the following impaired driving offenses: a.     Impaired driving under G.S. 20-138.1. b.     Impaired driving under G.S. 20-138.2, if the driver’s alcohol concentration level was .06 or…

Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in the cases Riley v. California and U.S. v. Wurie, unanimously holding that “[t]he police generally may not, without a warrant, search digital information on a cell phone seized from an individual who has been arrested.” We looked at the issues in these cases back in April…

A person who has committed three impaired driving offenses and commits a fourth within 10 years violates the North Carolina habitual impaired driving statute. G.S. 20-138.5(a) states that A person commits the offense of habitual impaired driving if he drives while impaired as defined in G.S. 20-138.1 and has been convicted of three or more…

We’ve all heard of radar detectors set up to catch speeding cars on the roads. But could something similar be used to detect impaired drivers? Science Daily reports that there is a new laser device which can be used to detect alcohol vapors in passing vehicles. The article describes the use of the device as…

If you are lawfully arrested for DWI in North Carolina, you have the right to refuse to submit to a Breathalyzer test. However, refusing to submit to a Breathalyzer comes with serious consequences, including a one year suspension of your driver’s license by the DMV. This suspension occurs when the law enforcement officer and chemical…

A police officer cannot stop cars whenever he wants because the Fourth Amendment protects us against unreasonable searches and seizures. In order for an officer to conduct a traffic stop under the Fourth Amendment, he must have “reasonable suspicion” that the driver has committed a crime or infraction. But what if the flashing lights and…

Driving while impaired is an implied consent offense in North Carolina, which means that when a person applies for their driver’s license with the DMV they give their implied consent to submit to chemical analysis upon arrest for DWI. However, G.S. 20.16-2(a) requires that before an officer conducts any chemical analysis, he must informed the…

A police officer cannot stop cars whenever he wants because the Fourth Amendment protects us against unreasonable searches and seizures. In order for an officer to conduct a traffic stop under the Fourth Amendment, he must have “reasonable suspicion” that the driver has committed a crime or infraction. But how does this change if, instead…

The Charlotte Observer reported that 16 DWI arrests were made on late Friday night and early Saturday morning at a checkpoint on Park Road. The checkpoint was set up on Park Road, near Archdale Drive, and was conducted from 11 p.m. until 3 a.m. There were 3 under-21 drivers charged with DWI and 13 over-21…

Can an officer search your vehicle if you are arrested for DWI in North Carolina? The US Supreme Court held in Arizona v. Gant (2009) that the police may search your car incident to an arrest only if either 1) the arrestee is unsecured and within reach of the passenger compartment of the vehicle at…

Another Memorial Day has come and gone. It was a beautiful weekend, which led many people out to the water. Unfortunately, two people did not enjoy the water without incident this weekend. News reports indicate that two men in their 20’s were injured when their jet skis collided on Lake Norman yesterday. One of the…

In North Carolina, impaired driving in a commercial vehicle is governed by a separate statute from impaired driving in a non-commercial vehicle.  While a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08 will violate the driving while impaired statute for non-commercial vehicles, a commercial vehicle driver with a BAC of 0.04 will violate G.S. 20-138.2(a).  That section…

The Highway Patrol, the Wildlife Resources Commission and the Alcohol Law Enforcement Division announced yesterday that they will be conducting an effort this summer focused on both the roadways and the water.  Among other things, they will be conducting DWI checkpoints near recreational boating areas.  However, in order for the evidence obtained during checkpoints to…

The North Carolina DWI statute G.S. 20-138.1(a) states that A person commits the offense of impaired driving if he drives any vehicle upon any highway, any street, or any public vehicular area within this State: (1)     While under the influence of an impairing substance; or (2)     After having consumed sufficient alcohol that he…

Last week, we talked about boating while impaired in North Carolina.  We compared the statutes relevant to driving while impaired (DWI) and boating while impaired (BWI) and noted their similarities.  I also mentioned that one of the differences between the two offenses is that there is no requirement that an officer have reasonable suspicion to…

A DWI arrest all starts with a traffic stop.  But an officer cannot stop cars whenever he wants because the Fourth Amendment protects us against unreasonable searches and seizures.  In order for an officer to conduct a traffic stop under the Fourth Amendment, he must have “reasonable suspicion” that the driver has committed a crime…

Usually when we think of someone being charged with a DWI, we think of someone driving a car or truck while impaired.  However, the laws governing DWIs in North Carolina are much broader in their definition of a vehicle and include a bicycle, a lawnmower, and a stand-up motorized scooter, just to name a few.…

Let’s suppose you are arrested for DWI.  Upon your arrest, the police officer conducts a full search and finds your cell phone.  Is the police officer allowed to search the information in the cell phone without a warrant?  The U.S. Supreme Court will soon tell us. Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two…

The Charlotte Observer reports that the driver responsible for multiple car accidents on Idelwild Road on Tuesday evening was subsequently arrested for DWI.  During that incident, the driver rear-ended one car, turned around and then hit two more cars, and ended the affair with a head-on crash with a fourth car which caused the fourth…

What happens if you are driving home, reach down to change the radio station, and swerve so that you almost run another car off the road?  Well, under a US Supreme Court case decided yesterday, a witness could make a 911 report of the incident which would provide reasonable suspicion for an officer to stop…

A DWI typically starts with a traffic stop.  To lawfully make a traffic stop, an officer must have reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle.  In a DWI case, this includes any traffic violation and can range from speeding, to driving erratically, to having a burned out headlight.   If you can show that the officer did…

If you are lawfully arrested for DWI in North Carolina, you have the right to refuse to submit to a Breathalyzer test.  However, refusing to submit to a Breathalyzer comes with serious consequences.  In North Carolina, when you apply for your driver’s license from the DMV, you give your implied consent to submit to breath…

Usually when we imagine someone charged with a DWI, we think of someone getting behind the wheel after drinking one too many.  The North Carolina DWI statute, however, is broader than just alcohol and includes driving a vehicle on a highway, street or public vehicular area in North Carolina “While under the influence of an…

What happens if you have an open container in your car when you are stopped for a DWI in North Carolina?  It depends on a few of factors.  First, where is the open container located in the car?  Second, has the driver had anything to drink?  And third, who is in possession of the open…