When someone is killed by a drunk driver, it’s a tragedy. Preventing such deaths should be of major concern. The Charlotte Observer published an editorial this week suggesting the best way to do this is by strengthening laws to more harshly penalize drunk drivers.

According to the piece “NC tolerates too many DWI deaths”, one particular case brings attention to a problem in the state. At issue is a Monroe, N.C. man who allegedly fled a traffic stop while intoxicated and drove head on into a father of three, killing him on his way home from a church play where he was cast as Jesus.

The suspect in the case was driving with a suspended license. He has allegedly been arrested 18 times in the past and is facing charges of felony child abuse in an unrelated case. He will now add 2^nd degree murder, felony death by vehicle, speeding to avoid arrest, driving while under revocation, driving left of center, and DWI to his list of charges.

For his prior DWI convictions, the man served a suspended 2 year sentence and spent 9 month in prison on another charge. But, the paper reports, the DWI system is broken.  To fix the problem, they suggest 3 solutions.

1. The paper calls on the state to repeal a ban restricting the use of alcohol monitoring bracelets for more than 60 days. They state the bracelets are far too effective to have such a time limit on them. This despite the fact that the bracelets cost $12 per day for the offender and don’t have any effect on someone’s ability to drive.
2. They suggest ignition interlock devices be used on vehicles even after the first DWI conviction. Currently, the state waits until a second conviction to use this preventative tool.
3. Finally, they recommend a 3^rd DWI become a felony charge with mandatory prison time.

The Observer is correct when they assert drunk driving deaths are a tragedy and a serious problem. But, their recommended solutions likely wouldn’t make a major impact. Though we don’t like to hear stories of death on the roadways, they will happen no matter what we do.

To believe somehow that we can effectively stop drunk driving in its tracks is a nice thought but it’s simply unrealistic. The mass incarceration of a generation should be proof enough that prison time and monitoring devices can’t eliminate criminal behavior particularly when it comes to criminal behavior that’s spurred by an addiction like alcoholism.

If you’re facing DWI charges, whether it’s your first or your fourth such offense, you need someone on your side. Although these kind of charges are pretty common, that doesn’t make them any less serious.

Contact out attorneys today for a free consultation on your case.

The Charlotte Observer published an interesting article this week exposing a little known fact about North Carolina treatment courts: that they cannot use the ankle bracelets designed to detect alcohol in the body. Due to a committee decision in 2007 judges in these treatment courts aren’t allowed to utilize what some other state’s see as a useful tool in alcohol offense control.

In North Carolina, only 1,100 people have been monitored by devices like this. Nationally, over 140,000 offenders have. Obviously, NC isn’t making use of it like other jurisdictions.

There are more than 40 DUI and drug courts in the state. These specialty courts use a variety of tools to help offenders battle addiction and stay away from further criminal violations. For some, alcohol detection bracelets seem like a logical addition to these tools.

However, a committee called the Drug Treatment Court Advisory Committee decided the bracelets weren’t effective enough nor cost relevant to stay in the court system. They also questioned the methods used by the manufacturer’s of the devices, stating they employed a door-to-door sales sort of approach, marketing the device to individual judges and courts like a used car salesman.

These brackets, also known as SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) bracelets, measures any alcohol consumption by the wearer, by continuously monitoring alcohol any level in the body. directly through the skin.

The devices require a daily $12 fee, paid directly to the company who makes them. This makes them unaffordable for many people within the DUI courts to begin with and because studies show that those who elect to be monitored by such devices often get more lenient treatment, it only further widens the socioeconomic gap within the justice system.

In addition to the cost issues is reliability. The Committee who barred the devices use in 2007 pointed out false positive readings and took issue with the fact that the “studies” proving the effectiveness of the devices were funded by the manufacturers themselves, throwing any chance of scientific objectivity out the window.

Occasionally, despite the barring of these devices in treatment courts, we do see them being used. Their tendency to deliver bad results and the fact that they often don’t prevent further law violations makes them a questionable choice for any judge, however.

These sort of technological advances are seen frequently and even in cases of breathalyzer tests. As a defense attorney, challenging the results of a breath test at the time of your DWI arrest is just one way we may be able to help you with your case.

Penalties for a DWI conviction in NC are quite serious. If you already have a DUI on your record, new charges can be particularly tough to face. Please contact our law offices today if you are facing charges of drunk driving. We can provide a free consultation to discuss your options.

The Winston-Salem area is looking to streamline DWI cases as Forsyth County adds a DWI specific court, and works to get through the backlog of DWI cases that have piled up.According to the Winston-Salem Journal, the problem started after the US Supreme Court’s Melendez-Diaz ruling changed the way evidence is handled in DWI cases. This ruling requires a representative from the state crime lab to testify to scientific and forensic evidence in drug and DWI cases, such as breath test machine results. Previous to this decision, the evidence could be provided in documents alone.

This new requirement, passed last year, has caused cases to move much more slowly as the prosecution must be prepared to introduce breath test evidence with an expert state witness on hand, if required.

While considered a win for the DWI accused in getting a fair hearing at trial, the current backlog problem created is causing problems for defendants as well. One local attorney notes that the backlog often requires a person accused of drunk driving to appear in court as many as 10 or 11 times in order to resolve their case, where it used to take only a couple of court dates.

Having to take that many days off from work is a significant burden, and may even be legally questionable around the issue of the right to a “speedy trial”.

A new dedicated DWI court should help move more cases along. DWI courts are also used in other North Carolina Counties, such as Wake and Columbus.

The US Supreme Court’s Recent Melendez-Diaz decision changing the rules of allowed forensic and scientific evidence, is not expected to be a significant factor in the prosecution of cases that previously used documentary evidence.

photo credit: hmerinomx

In the Melendez-Diaz vs. Massachusetts Supreme court case, the justices determined that for any documented forensic evidence, there needs to be a scientist expert witness who prepared the documents available to explain and defend the facts. In the past, just a certified document itself has been considered sufficient evidence in court.

This kind of evidence comes up frequently in drug possession cases, where the drugs themselves must be formally identified to be illegal controlled substances. Also in DWI cases, the evidence certified by a breathalyzer machine must be documented in the same manner.

Across the country, District Attorneys have been concerned about the difficulty in needing to arrange for these experts to appear in court. Prosecutors now have to prepare for, arrange and schedule this testimony in many cases. And typically, there haven’t been a lot of these forensic examiners available to testify, since in the past, it hasn’t been necessary.

In this Daily Record story, a District 11 prosecutor (which covers Johnston, Harnett, and Lee Counties)  suggests that it won’t be a big problem. It should be possible to get a continuance from the judge in the defense attorney insists on cross-examining the expert, she believes.

However, the Harnett County Sheriff is more concerned about the ruling, and considers these kind of tactics pure “legal trickery”.

We think an honest and fair confrontation of any evidence against you is a requirement under our system where you are considered absolutely innocent until proven guilty.

If you are accused of a DWI, drug possession offense, or other criminal charge in North Carolina, please call us for a legal consultation.

The North Carolina General Assembly is proposing a mandatory ignition interlock law on any first offense DWI conviction. House Bill 1489 has been passed signed off on by the House Science and Technology Committee, and currently sits in the Committee on Judiciary for further action.If the bill becomes law, North Carolina would join nine other states that currently require these systems for any 1st offense drunk driving conviction. There is also a provision in a pending Federal Highway Bill that would require such a law to be enacted for states to be eligible for federal highway funds, but that requirement hasn’t passed as yet.

An ignition interlock device (IID) is a system that prevents a car from starting if the driver doesn’t provide a “clean” breath sample. It is a rolling breathalyzer system in your car.

Under current NC law, these devices are only mandated after a 2nd offense conviction, or a “high BAC” level of .15% BAC, or nearly twice the legal blood alcohol limit of .08%.

Critics argue that a 1st offense DWI requirement is harsh and extremely intrusive for someone who may have made a one time mistake, and was barely over the limit. The majority of auto accidents where alcohol is considered a primary factor are when the driver has a high BAC, and their driving ability is significantly impaired.

If you are accused of a drunk driving/DWI offense in North Carolina, please contact our defense attorneys for a consultation. We can protect your rights and fight to save your driver’s license.

An afternoon wedding at the Council Baptist Church this past weekend didn’t happened as planned. The church was decorated, the bride was dressed, and they were just waiting on the groom. Brandon Tedder, age 23, was on his way to his big day with his best man and his little brother when tragedy struck. The Prelude Tedder was driving was hit head on and all three died instantly.

A horrific interruption to the day this couple had waited nearly 8 years for. The other vehicle involved was a Sebring Convertible driven by John Daniel Kelley of Whiteville.   He also had a passenger, his 17 year old son Michael. Upon arriving on the scene troopers found several empty alcoholic containers in the Sebring according to this report from WRAL.

Kelley’s blood was drawn and he was immediately charged with DWI. He could face additional charges for the deaths that occurred although the prosecutor has failed to disclose that as of yet. Kelley is currently hospitalized and listed in serious condition.

Incidents like these are horrific tragedies. Fortunately, North Carolina saw a decline in DWIs last year, though there were 392 “alcohol related” fatalities on the roadways according to MADD. High profile, tragic accidents like this are the reason the North Carolina court system treats DWI’s as seriously as the way they do.

Even when there is no accident or harm to anyone, a first offense DUI in North Carolina will land you a mandatory minimum 24 hour jail sentence. In addition to this you will lose your license for 6 months to a year and will likely be instructed to attend some sort of treatment or alcohol education.

DUI cases are serious criminal cases that require a serious criminal defense if you hope to have a positive outcome in court. Of course, very few DUI incidents end so tragically. and although you may have broken the law, time to take responsibility for your actions has come.

If you are facing DUI charges, call today so we can discuss your case. Together we can decide the best defense strategy to employ on your day in court.