UNDERAGE DRINKING AND DRIVING INFORMATION SHEET

July 31, 2007

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 kwlaw@earthlink.net. 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.
• Your charge is a class two misdemeanor. Depending on the number of prior convictions that appear on your record, you could receive up to sixty days in jail. My experience in Pitt County, however, is you will usually receive a probationary sentence from the judges in this district.
• 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 ten 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.
• In addition to whatever punishment you receive in court, you would also have your license suspended for twelve months by the Division of Motor Vehicles. We can avoid the suspension, however, if you receive a PJC ("prayer for judgment") in court. In the absence of a PJC, it is also possible to get a limited driving privilege so that you can drive for purposes of work and school during the twelve-month revocation. We will review these issues in greater detail as your case moves forward.
• If you have an out of state license, North Carolina will revoke your privilege to drive in this state for 12 months. North Carolina will also report the conviction to your home state DMV, which result in the loss of your license under the laws of your home state.
• At some point before your case is disposed of in court, I will speak with the officer who issued your ticket. I will ask the officer about the facts of the case. I will also try to review his notes and records from the day he arrested you.
• 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.
• As part of preparing for court, you need to get a substance abuse assessment. To get an assessment, you should call East Coast Counseling in Greenville at 252/752-8602.
  • 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 you have an intoxilyzer result of .14 or less, the assessment will likely recommend that you take a routine drug and alcohol class called ADETS. ADETS costs $50.00, and it consists of four classes held on Tuesday nights from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Pitt County Mental Health Center. 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 (if any), 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 three to four weeks. After I receive your driving record, I will send you the documents you need to take to the assessment.
  • You need to tell East Coast Counseling 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.
  • The cost of the assessment is $100.00. You will pay this fee directly to East Coast Counseling. The fee for ADETS or any other classes or treatment recommended by the assessment is additional.
  • If you are a student at East Carolina University, you should check with the student life department to see whether you would be able to obtain a free or low cost assessment, instead of contacting East Coast Counseling. Note, however, that getting the assessment through ECU may trigger a student disciplinary proceeding, because the assessment will alert the University to your pending charge.
• You may also be subject to a 30-day civil revocation of your driver's license beginning on the day you received your ticket. Please check with me so that we can discuss whether this revocation applies in your case. If it does, you cannot drive during the first ten days of the suspension. Thereafter, you can drive with a 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.
  • 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 drinking and driving offenses 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 ticket. It ends thirty days later, when you pay your $100.00 fee to the clerk. If you wait longer than thirty 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 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.
• 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 would be helpful for you to have at least one of your parents come to court with you. The judges in this district like to see anyone who is under twenty-one have at least one parent in court with them.
• 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 twenty-four hours.

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