DWI INFORMATION SHEET - FIRST OFFENSE

Please read and review this information carefully. Do not hesitate to contact my office if you have any questions or concerns. My phone number is 252/931-9362, and my email address is keith@williamslawonline.com. My website is williamslawonline.com.

• I will be doing everything possible to have you found not guilty. I need to advise you for the record, however, regarding the maximum punishments that could be imposed if you are convicted.
  • You will likely receive unsupervised probation if you are convicted. While it is possible to receive up to six months in jail even for a first DWI conviction, the judges in our county typically impose probation on first offenders. The period of probation will be approximately twenty-four months.
  • "Unsupervised" probation means that you will be on probation but you will not report to a probation officer. If you are convicted, I will give you further details about unsupervised probation when we dispose of your case in court.
  • You will also be required to pay court costs and a fine. Court costs are $120.00, and the fine can be a maximum of $1,000.00. More commonly, the fine is approximately $250.00. You will need to be able to pay the court costs and fine on the day that we dispose of your case in court.
  • You will also be required to perform up to 72 hours of community service and to pay a community service fee of $200.00. You should also bring this with you to court on the day we dispose of your case.
  • The judge could order that you not operate a motor vehicle for a period of up to ninety days from the time you are convicted (even with a limited driving privilege). Typically, however, the judge will let you choose whether you want to do community service or have a period of not driving. Most people choose to do community service.
  • DWI is a class 2 misdemeanor. It is not a felony, and it does not cause you to lose the right to vote or to own a gun. If you are placed on unsupervised probation, however, one of the conditions of probation will be that you possess no firearm or other dangerous or deadly weapon during the period of probation. If you hunt or otherwise own guns, please let me know so that we can ask the judge to waive this condition in your case.
• You should not speak with anyone about your case other than myself. Anything you say to anyone else (especially to any law enforcement officer) could be used against you in court.
• Your sentence will be determined based upon "aggravating" and "mitigating" factors. One of the mitigating factors that can reduce your punishment is getting a substance abuse assessment. To get an assessment, you need to call East Coast Counseling in Greenville at 252/752-8602 or PORT Human Services at 252/752-2431. If you call PORT and you are an ECU student, you should tell them you want to go to the assessment at their Third Street office, which is closer to campus.
  • They will schedule an appointment for you to meet confidentially with a substance abuse counselor who will ask you a series of questions about your use of drugs and alcohol. At the end of the appointment, the counselor will complete a form entitled "Substance Abuse Assessment." If your intoxilyzer result was .14 or less, the assessment will likely recommend that you take a routine drug and alcohol class called ADETS. If your intoxilyzer was .15 or higher, or if the results of the assessment indicate that you have a possible problem with drugs or alcohol, the assessment will likely recommend that you complete twenty hours of more focused drug and alcohol counseling.
  • You will need to take a copy of your ticket, your intoxilyzer test results, and your driving record to the appointment. If you have a North Carolina license, I will get a copy of your driving record from the Sheriff's Department. If you have an out of state license, I will get a copy of your driving record from your home state motor vehicle agency. I generally receive North Carolina records within seven days, and I generally receive out of state records within two to three weeks.
  • You need to tell East Coast or PORT that I am representing you and that your assessment form should be faxed to my office at 252/830-5155.
  • You should register for (and complete) any class or treatment that is recommended by the assessment. If you finish the classes or treatment prior to the time we dispose of your case in court, it may help us further reduce your punishment. It is especially important for you to complete the treatment prior to court if you refused to take the intoxilyzer at the time you were arrested. In a refusal case, you will not be able to get a limited driving privilege until you finish the treatment, even if you are otherwise eligible.
  • The cost of the assessment is $100.00. You will pay this fee directly to the agency doing the assessment. The fee for ADETS or any other classes or treatment recommended by the assessment is additional.
  • If you are from outside North Carolina, you should still get the assessment and any treatment done in North Carolina, unless you speak with me first about arrangements for out-of-state assessments and treatment. It is more difficult to satisfy the requirements of North Carolina law with out-of-state assessments.
• You should also do 24 hours of community service prior to the time that we dispose of your case in court. If you are convicted of DWI, you will avoid the $200.00 community service fee if you have done the 24 hours of community service in advance of your final court date. You can do the community service at any recognized charity. I can make arrangements for you to do it locally in Greenville at Habitat for Humanity. If you are interested in this possibility, please let me know.
  • If you refused to blow on the intoxilyzer, then you will be required to do at least 24 hours of community service before any limited driving privilege is issued. Please contact my office so that we schedule the community service as soon as possible.
• In addition to whatever punishment is imposed in court, the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will also suspend your license for twelve months upon conviction. This twelve-month suspension will start on the day you are convicted. If you have an out-of-state license, your privilege to drive in this state will be revoked for twelve months, and DMV will report your conviction to your home state. Your home state will also likely suspend your license.
  • If you were 21 or older on the day you received your DWI ticket, and if you had a valid license at the time you were stopped for the DWI, you will be able to get a limited driving privilege. A limited privilege allows you to drive for purposes of work, school, and maintenance of your household during the twelve-month suspension. If you blew a .15 or higher on the intoxilyzer, then you will likely be required to have an ignition interlock device installed on your car as a condition of getting the limited privilege. I will give you further information about the interlock device as your case proceeds.
  • If you were under 21 on the day you received your DWI ticket, DMV will contend that you are not eligible for a limited driving privilege. Another lawyer and I sued DMV over this issue a few years ago, but we were unable to have the law changed. I can still obtain a limited driving privilege for you from the court, even though DMV will not recognize it as valid. We will talk further about the privilege when the time comes. Also, please note that if you are under 21, it would be helpful for one or both of your parents to be in court with you on the day we dispose of your case in court. The judges in our county like to see that you have the support of your family.
  • Before getting the limited driving privilege, you will be required get a substance abuse assessment. You will also need to show proof that you have car insurance. This is done with a DL-123 form, which you can obtain from your insurance agent. Note that the form is only valid for thirty days, which means that you will need to request the form from your agent within thirty days before we dispose of your case in court. Ask your agent to fax it to my office at 252/830-5155.
  • The limited driving privilege will have certain restrictions, such as driving for your job and driving only in certain hours. If you change jobs or move, or if you need additional hours for driving, you will need to call me so we can have the court amend the privilege. Failing to do so would expose you to being charged with driving while license revoked and losing the privilege.
• If you received your DWI ticket within the last thirty days and you blew .08 or higher on the intoxilzyer (or you refused to take the intoxilyzer), your license is currently suspended for thirty days. You cannot drive during the first ten days of the suspension. Thereafter, you can drive with a twenty-day limited driving privilege for the remaining twenty days of the suspension.
  • Before getting a twenty-day privilege, however, you must obtain a substance abuse assessment as described above and register for any recommended treatment. You also must pay an additional $100.00 to the clerk's office for the limited privilege. I can pay this on your behalf at the clerk's office.
  • At the end of the thirty-day suspension, you will get your license back by paying $100.00 to the criminal clerk of court located on the fourth floor of the Pitt County Courthouse. If you bring the $100.00 to my office, we will pay the fee and get your license for you. It is important that you pay the $100.00 as soon as the thirty-day suspension ends, because failing to do so would cause you to suffer increased punishment if you are charged with a DWI in the future.
  • Also note that the thirty-day license suspension is entirely separate from the twelve-month license suspension described above. The thirty-day suspension starts on the day you receive your DWI ticket. It ends thirty days later, when you pay your $100.00 fee to the clerk. If you wait longer than 30 days to pay your $100.00 to the clerk, the suspension ends whenever you pay the $100.00. After you pay the fee to the clerk, you get your license back, and you can drive without restrictions until we dispose of your case in court. If you are found not guilty, you will continue to drive without restrictions. If you are found guilty, you will turn in your license on your court date and begin the twelve-month suspension.
  • If you need some form of identification from DMV during the thirty-day suspension, you can get an identification card at your local DMV office. If you do so, however, you will need to return to DMV after your thirty-day suspension ends and get a duplicate license. Failure to get a duplicate license will mean that DMV will not have you listed as a licensed driver, which could cause you to be charged with driving while license revoked. However, if you do not get an identification card from DMV during the thirty-day suspension, you will not need to get a duplicate license from DMV at the end of the thirty-day suspension. You will simply drive with your original license.
• If you were under 21 on the day you received your DWI ticket, then you may also have been charged with the separate offense of underage drinking and driving. DWI applies when the intoxilyzer result is .08 or higher. Underage drinking and driving applies when the intoxilyzer result is .01 or higher, because the law provides that you should not have any alcohol in your body if you are under 21. If you are only convicted of underage drinking and driving, you will have a twelve-month license revocation, but you will be able to get a limited driving privilege to allow you to drive during the revocation period. If you are convicted of both DWI and underage drinking and driving, DMV will contend that you are not eligible for a limited driving privilege, as described above.
• Your case is currently in district court, where traffic and misdemeanor cases are handled. It will be decided by a judge, not a jury. If you are convicted, you will have the right to appeal your case within 10 days of the date of your conviction. The appeal would be to Superior Court, where you would receive a jury trial. If you want to appeal, you will need to let me know at the time you are convicted.
• At some point before your case is disposed of in court, I will speak with the officer who issued your DWI ticket. I will ask him about the facts of the case. I will also ask him whether he took any videotape in your case. If he did, I will attempt to view the videotape prior to court. I will also try to review his notes and records from the day he arrested you.
• Please be sure that you dress appropriately for court. For men, this means wearing a coat and tie and being clean shaven. For women, this means wearing a dress that is loose and professional. You should be conservative and respectful in your dress and in your attitude while in court.
• It is important that you understand your case and that I answer any questions you may have. Please be sure to contact my office if you need further information. If I am not available and you leave a message, I will do everything possible to return your call within 24 hours.