North Carolina DWI laws are some of the toughest in the country. If you have been arrested for DWI in North Carolina, it is critical that you contact a North Carolina drunk driving defense lawyer immediately. North Carolina's "Booze it and lose it" campaign through the North Carolina Department of Transportation typifies the attitude of law enforcement towards those suspected of drinking and driving in that state.

Drunk driving defense is a specialized area. North Carolina DWI law is primarily governed by North Carolina General Statute Sect. 20-138.1 and Sect. 20-16. Like many states, North Carolina DWI law includes both a traditional driving while impaired charge, and a per se charge. Typically, when someone is arrested for DWI or a related North Carolina drunk driving charge, they will confront both charges.

North Carolina DWI law, for purposes of the traditional driving while impaired charge, relates to "appreciable impairment" while driving. This count does not depend on a particular blood alcohol level, such as North Carolina's per se law, which relates to a blood or breath alcohol level of .08% or higher. The prosecutor will attempt to prove the traditional North Carolina DWI charge by demonstrating appreciable impairment through the suspect's driving pattern, their physical appearance, their performance on field sobriety tests, and the chemical test results.

North Carolina DWI law for the "per se" charge doesn't care about how the individual was driving, how they appeared, how well or poorly they did on field sobriety tests, or anything else other than the chemical test results. For purposes of the North Carolina per se laws, the primary issue relates to blood or breath alcohol levels of .08% or higher. Current North Carolina law forbids the use of the roadside breath test for other than probable cause to arrest someone for drunk driving; this means that the roadside tests are not to be used to establish impairment or violation of the per se law. However, other states, such as California, are now allowing these roadside test results into evidence.

North Carolina drunk driving laws are some of the toughest in the country. Recent amendments to North Carolina DWI laws include laws that:

North Carolina DWI suspects do have the right to refuse chemical testing of their blood or breath; however, evidence of that refusal is admissible against the DWI arrestee in court. North Carolina DWI law does require the police to assist the suspect in obtaining independent tests if the person is still in police custody. This means that the driver is to be allowed access to a phone to arrange the independent test.
We ask that all of our clients complete a pre interview form in order to help us to better understand their situation and identify legal issues for trial. The form can be found here and should be filled out and brought to your initial interview.

The law provides that after the expiration of the initial 10 days of your 30 day revocation for either refusing to take the intoxilyzer or blowing a .08 or more, that you are entitled to a 20 day limited driving privilege under a DWI charge. In order to have a hearing on this matter and obtain a limited driving privilege for you we must have in our possession, prior to the expiration of the 10 days a copy of the assessment from a licensed assessing agency. We also need a letter from your employer in which it is stated the hours of your employment. If you work on weekends or after 8:00 at night on the weekdays, the letter needs to state the need for the driving during those times. Finally, we will need for you to obtain a DL-123 Form from your insurance agent and the fastest way of handling this is to call your agency and ask them to fax to you a copy of a DL-123 form. You may use our fax number (760-4520) in order to avoid additional trips to our office for delivery of the form. Please note the DL-123 form is only good for 30 days and therefore, it may be necessary for you to obtain additional DL-123 forms for your actual trial date. If you fail to have the updated form at your trial it may delay the issuance of a limited driving privilege for you. Once we have received this information we will place your matter on the docket for hearing and should obtain a 20 day limited privilege for you. At the end of the 30 day revocation, you may go to the Clerk of Court's Office in the county that you were arrested and pay $50.00 to obtain your real driver's license back until you go to trial.

If you refused the breathalyzer test you should receive a letter from Raleigh informing you to mail your license in for the willful refusal. At your interview you will speak with one of our attorneys and decide if you are going to write for a hearing, if in fact you did not willfully refuse. If you decide that you are going to write for a hearing, we will need to know when you received this letter because there is a deadline on filing for the hearing. If we do write for a hearing you are allowed to keep your license until the hearing or your trial.

Our firm will work hard to protect your rights under the law and to help you navigate the complicated legal minefield that is DWI law.