If you are charged with Driving While Impaired, you need effective and experienced representation from a Monroe, NC criminal defense lawyer. Driving While Impaired will usually cause an initial thirty-day civil revocation. You may be eligible for a pre-trial privilege after the initial ten days of the revocation. Once the thirty days have elapsed, you may be eligible to get your license back by going to the clerk’s office and paying a reinstatement fee. You are eligible to drive unless or until you are convicted of driving while impaired. However, if you refused a chemical test, your license to drive will be revoked even if you are not convicted of the charge and you have a limited period to challenge the revocation once notice is sent to you. The mailing address on your license must be your actual mailing address because the NC Department of Motor Vehicles will send notices to the address on your license. It does not matter if you receive the notice or not. The statute is written in a way that only matters that the notice was sent.
- Every judge takes driving while impaired seriously and the statutes of North Carolina set out the punishment in great detail. There are different levels for sentencing, which can range from 24 hours of a community of service (at a minimum) to 2 years in prison.
- It is important to know if you have had a prior conviction or suspension due to an alcohol-related incident. This factor along with several others will greatly increase your punishment.
Driving While Impaired in Monroe, NC
We frequently assist clients with effective defenses in DWI cases in Monroe, NC. The offense of driving while impaired, or driving while intoxicated (DWI), is taken extremely seriously in Monroe. Even with a first offense, you can face substantial penalties upon conviction. Under North Carolina law , a person commits the offense of impaired driving if they drive any vehicle on a highway or public place within Monroe, North Carolina while under any of the following conditions:
- While under the influence of an impairing substance
- After having consumed sufficient alcohol that has resulted in a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or more
- With any amount of a Schedule I controlled substance (or its metabolites) in their blood or urine
Without the help of a Monroe, NC DWI defense lawyer, you could face serious penalties upon conviction of a DWI. The North Carolina Department of Public Safety explains that there are five separate levels of driving while intoxicated in the state, and each is a misdemeanor offense.
Those penalty levels include the following:
- Level V: This is the least serious level of a misdemeanor DWI, and it is punishable with a fine of up to $200, a minimum jail sentence of 24 hours, and a maximum jail sentence of 60 days. It is within the judge’s discretion for a Level V offense to suspend the sentence based on the specific facts of the case, provided that the defendant spends 24 hours in jail, perform 24 hours of community service, or agrees not to operate a motor vehicle for at least 30 days.
- Level IV: This level of DWI is the second least serious and is punishable with a fine of up to $500, a minimum jail sentence of 48 hours, and a maximum jail sentence of 120 days. Like a Level V offense, a judge can suspend the sentence provided that other actions are completed by the defendant.
- Level III: This level of DWI is punishable with a fine of up to $1,000, a minimum jail sentence of 72 hours, and a maximum jail sentence of six months. Like Level V and IV offenses, it is within the judge’s discretion to suspend the sentence provided that other conditions are met.
- Level II: This level of DWI is the second-most serious and is punishable with a fine of up to $2,000, a minimum jail sentence of seven days, and a maximum jail sentence of one year. Once a person is charged with a Level II DWI, it is not within the judge’s discretion to suspend the minimum sentence.
- Level I: This is the most serious DWI level and is punishable by a fine of up to $4,000, a minimum jail sentence of 30 days, and a maximum jail sentence of two years. It is not within the judge’s discretion to suspend the minimum sentence.
Both Level II and Level I offenders are repeat offenders. Once a person has three prior DWIs and is charged again, the offense becomes a felony DWI with a minimum jail term of at least one year.
If you are convicted of a DWI in Monroe, NC, you must undergo a substance abuse assessment in addition to completing either an education program or a treatment program, as the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) clarifies.
Get Help With Your DWI Arrest In Monroe, NC
North Carolina currently uses the EC-IR-II, which replaced the Intoxilyzer 5000. Many people still refer to the machine that performs the test as the intoxilyzer. Some people refer to it as the Breathalyzer. It is the machine you blow into once you have been advised of certain statutory rights. It is usually at the jail or sheriff’s office but they can be mobile at certain checkpoints. It is not the handheld device that you blow into on the side of the road. The hand-held device is the alcosensor, which is used to determine probable cause for the arrest, and the specific results are not usually admitted into evidence in North Carolina. If the reported results of the EC-IR-II or blood results are .15 or higher and you are convicted, you will have to have an interlock device placed on your vehicle to drive under a limited driving privilege if you are convicted and qualify to receive a limited driving privilege. Currently, the only vendor for the interlock device is Monitech. You can get information about them at www.monitechnc.com.
- CALL NOW: 704-289-2519
Meet the Attorneys
All of our attorneys are involved in Union County schools, churches and community activities.
Richard G. Long, Jr. Attorney
Dale Ann Plyler Attorney
Ashley McBride Attorney
Lisa Hough Beaman Attorney
Richard Long III Attorney
Terry Sholar Of Counsel