Raleigh DWI Lawyer | Wake County Courthouse's DWI Courtroom Not Adhering to Local Rules

So, for anyone who's ever been through a DWI charge in Wake County, they may have heard a reference to a courtroom '5C.'  As a Raleigh DWI Defense Attorney, I have resolved many cases in courtroom 5C and though it has gone through several revisions recently, it has come to be a tried and true way to try and resolve Wake County DWI trials in an efficient method.

First, for clarification, courtroom 5C is a courtroom set aside just for DWI trials.  Now, in many cases DWI cases are plead in 5C for one reason or another, but for the most part, it's there for DWI trials.  The purpose of courtroom 5C was to allow the State to organize their case so that on the date of trial, they had all necessary witnesses and the case would not be unnecessarily continued taking up the court and the Defendant's time.  This differs from regular district court in that in regular court, the Defendant and/or Defense counsel come to court and if the State is not prepared to proceed to trial that day, the case will be continued.  This option of a continuance goes both ways as the Defendant and/or their defense attorney can continue a case if they are not ready to proceed on the court date.  Obviously, this cannot go on forever, so both sides can eventually run out of continuances and will be forced to proceed with their case at that time.

However, with courtroom 5C, was used to transpire was the State would motion to continue to place the case in 5C, where no date certain would be provided.  Then, at a later point, once the State is certain they can proceed with the case, they set the court date and notify the Defendant.  Well, this Wake County Defense Attorney, along with many others, took exception to this design as the State was being given an unfair advantage in setting the trial date at their leisure.  As a result of the Defense Bar's complaints, Wake County Courthouse changed local rules so that once a matter was set to 5C, and administrative date was set, and on that date, the trial date would be set.  This seemed to be a fair compromise as both the State and the Defendant were provided a date certain for their trial and could plan accordingly.  Unfortunately, this has NOT been how this court has been handled recently.

Five times this year alone, and four in the last month, I have had DWI trials set in 5C.  On those dates, myself, my clients and sometimes my clients family would show up to court on their date ready to argue our case.  On these particular dates, the State was NOT ready proceed with their case and a District Court Judge granted the State's motion to continue to another date for trial.  Now, you may be saying to yourself that certainly the State must have a good reason to continue the case from it's original trial date, which has been in place for months.  Certainly there's some medical emergency or unforeseen circumstances in which the State could not have anticipated and therefore should be given another opportunity to try the case; NOPE!  In each of these cases, the State had to try and continue the case because they failed to subpoena their witnesses; in other words, they weren't prepared for trial.  And in each of these cases, the sitting Wake County District Court Judge granted State's motion to continue.  Could you image if I, as a Raleigh DWI Attorney, stood up for that same Judge, in a courtroom with the State and State's witnesses ready to proceed, and asked to continue a case set for trial for the sole reason that, though I was aware of the trial date for months, I simply was not prepared to try the case because I didn't do my job? 

What's worse, if the Judge had denied the State's motion, the State would have been forced to dismiss the case, but they would NOT be without recourse.  The State enjoys the privilege, not only have being able to set the dates for trials, but also to refile charges against Defendants that have been dismissed without prejudice.  So, the State, if they so chose, could have refiled the charges if they felt strongly enough about prosecuting my clients.

But alas, this is what has happened.  My clients day in court was pushed off for lack of due diligence on the part of the State and the Judges rewarded this lack of preparedness by permitting the case to be continued.  What is especially frustrating about this process is the fact that this is contrary to local rules.  Certainly, Judge's enjoy the discretion in granting these motions, and under unforseen circumstances I would have no complaint.  But the whole purpose of courtroom 5C was to allow the Defendant and the State to be given a date certain for trial in order to prepare accordingly and not waste precious judicial resources by needlessly continue cases over and over as both sides prepare.

So, from here forward, when my clients hire me as their Raleigh DWI Lawyer, I will fight vigorously in opposing in State's motions to move a case to 5C as the State enjoys the benefit of multiple bites at the apple to prepare for trial while the Defendant is left wondering why their case is not being heard when it is suppose to.

Raleigh DWI Law | Delays in Blood Cases

So today's Raleigh DWI Attorney blog is going to deal with what happens when an individual facing a North Carolina DWI Charge either refuses to blow in the Intoxilzyer or are unable to and the State elects to draw the Defendant's blood to test for their blood/alcohol concentration. Commonly referred to as a 'blood case' these type of DWI's have some interesting ins and outs for a Raleigh DUI Lawyer or any other North Carolina DUI Lawyer. But, this blog post is not intended on covering all the issues that can come up with blood cases. No, today's blog post is going to deal with my frustration with the handling of these particular types of cases. You see, with blood cases in North Carolina, the blood is shipped off to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) to have then run the test to determine the Defendant's blood/alcohol concentration. In many of these types of North Carolina DWI cases, is very important to the State's case against the Defendant. However, the blood can take months for it to get back to the District Attorney's office. Since the State is reluctant to proceed without the blood results, they will continue the case multiple times until the blood results comes in. Now, as a Raleigh Criminal Attorney and Raleigh DWI Attorney, I am no stranger to continuances. In fact, both the Defense and the State will utilize continuances in order to get time to get their evidence together, work out pleas, etc. What my big frustration is that there seems to be a double standard in some counties when it comes to blood cases. You see, for some counties in the Research Triangle Area, DWI cases are required to be resolved very quickly. If the case is several months old, the Defense may not be granted a continuance, regardless of the reason for the motion to continue. Now, some attorneys may be asking for a continuance for selfish reasons, others may have legitimate reasons, like a necessary witness isn't available that day, or the Defendant needs more time to complete their Substance Abuse Assessment, get money together, or make arrangements should they be facing jail time. Regardless, if the case is outside the predetermined limitations for DWI Cases, the Judge can deny the Defendant's motion and they are forced to proceed. Now, shift gears to a blood case. In these same counties (one in particular comes to mind - though will not be named) if the DWI is a blood case, the State is given all the time in the world to get their evidence together. Now, I understand the District Attorney's office has their hands tied because they can't control the SBI, but that doesn't change the fact that the Defendant is being required to come to court multiple times on something they have been accused of (but not yet proven) in violation to their right to a speedy trial. As example, I was in this particular county this morning for a client who was charged with a North Carolina DWI November 6th. This client has had 5 court dates since that time, each time having to have a relative take off of work and drive them to court as they can't drive themselves. The Judge today granted State's motion, over my vigorous objection, but did mark the shuck last (meaning the State is not suppose to get another continuance on the new date). Now, some may say, what's a few months of waiting, the State needs to be able to convict these people and need these blood results in order to do it. But keep in mind, these individuals have only been ACCUSED of a crime. Though a Police Officer was suppose to determine that they had probable cause to charge the individual, that is not necessarily enough for a conviction. What if these blood results came back as a .02? Would you still feel it's appropriate that the State require these individual come to court five, six, eight times, take at least an hour at a time to figure out what is going to be done with the case, only to learn that there was not enough evidence to charge them, let alone convict them? There is good reason we have a Constitutional Right to a speedy trial, so that the State cannot bring charges and then make the Defendant wait around, and come to court under threat of arrest, until the State can make their case. If you are facing a Raleigh DUI Charge, Raleigh Criminal Charge, or Raleigh Traffic Ticket and are in need of a free consultation, contact the Matheson Law Office about your case at 919-335-5291.

Driving While License Revoked| The Gift that Keeps Giving (even when you wish it wouldn't)

Okay, so today's blog will deal with the North Carolina charge of Driving While License Revoked.  Though this may seem a bit out of bounds for a Driving While Intoxicated blog, it's not as far off the mark as you may believe.  Let me explain.

A North Carolina DWI Conviction carries with it a one-year suspension of your Driver's License.  If, during that period of suspension, the Defendant is caught driving on a North Carolina street or highway without having a limited driving privilege, they will be charged with Driving While License Revoked.  

So, what is it about this charge that makes it so serious that it warrants it's own blog topic?  Well, there are several reasons why this charge is important.

First, though a Driving While Intoxicated conviction is one way to have your license suspended, there are other ways.   First, if a driver receives 12 or more points on their license in a three-year period, their license will be suspended for a year.  Additionally, should a Defendant not appear in court, or not pay their fines, they risk having their license suspended after a year.  This particular situation can be tricky because, though someone may have simply forgotten about their court date or fines, their suspension will go through with very little notice to them.  In fact, aside from a letter that is sent 20 days after the missed court date or missed payment date, there is no other notice.  Therefore, a Driver can be driving around under the assumption that the License in their possession is valid, only to find that it has been revoked.  In these cases, the 'notice' of revocation always comes about when the Driver receives another ticket, like a registration, seatbelt, speeding, or headlight ticket, and the Officer will also cite them for Driving While License Revoked.

Secondly, this charge carries with it 8 points towards your insurance.  Under North Carolina's Safe Driver Incentive Plan, 8 points will result in an increase to your automotive insurance premium by 220% for the next three years.  As an example, if you are presently paying $300 a year for your car insurance, you will be paying $660 a year for the next three years.

Finally, and most importantly, this charge is serious because a conviction of Driving While License Revoked will result in a one-year suspension of driving privileges.  Since most people cannot go without driving a car, many chose to drive anyways.  If they are caught driving during the one-year suspension period, it will result in an additional Driving While License Revoked charge.  That carries with it a two-year suspension.  A third or more charge will result in a permanent suspension (though you can petition the court for limited driving privilege after two years.   

A Driving While License Revoked charge is extremely serious and not one to take on by yourself lightly.  It would be in your best interest to speak with a Raleigh Traffic Attorney or Durham Traffic Attorney  about your particular case.  There may be an opportunity to avoid a license suspension from the Driving While License Revoked through some plea in District Court. 


Disclaimer - Information and advice offered in this article is for informational and educational purposes only and is specific to North Carolina law. The viewing, receipt and/or exchange of information from this article does not constitute an Attorney-Client Relationship. For assistance regarding your particular legal question speak with an Attorney practicing in the field from which your questions derives.