For the English-speaking public, North Carolina state law requires that law enforcement officers read certain rights to DWI suspects orally, and provide those same rights in writing, before the individual is required to decide whether to blow into a breathalyzer (Intox EC/IR II in Wake County) or submit to a blood draw. North Carolina General Statute § 20-16.2 is...
Continue ReadingUntil this year, North Carolina law permitted the taking of a blood sample from an unconscious DWI suspect under the apparent rationale that, by the simple fact of being rendered unconscious, we give up the fundamental right to be free from governmental intrusion into the contents of our own blood. North Carolina General Statute § 20-16.2(b) still reads as...
Continue ReadingAccording to the North Carolina Rules of Evidence, Rule 702, a witness properly qualified as an expert may only testify as to matters deemed to be outside of the domain of lay knowledge if the following three foundational criteria are met, under 702(a): (1) The testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) The testimony is the product...
Continue ReadingBullet lead analysis, hair and fiber analysis, and now the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test has been added to the growing list of police practices masquerading as “science,” that have now been discredited and revealed as little more than a hoax pulled on the general public by law enforcement as a tool to secure convictions in the absence of...
Continue ReadingTwo mentally disabled North Carolina men were finally exonerated this week, after being wrongfully convicted over three decades ago as a result of flawed police interrogation techniques. From the NY Times: The two young defendants were prosecuted by Joe Freeman Britt, the 6-foot-6, Bible-quoting district attorney who was later profiled by “60 Minutes” as the country’s “deadliest D.A.” because...
Continue ReadingMany of those charged with a DUI or similar traffic violation know about some of the most common legal consequences for these kinds of convictions. They may know about license suspension and other issues. But there are other long-term consequences of DUI/DWI prosecution that can take many years to go away, and can be problematic for drivers long after...
Continue ReadingOne of the various judgments imposed by North Carolina courts in DUI cases involves the use of an ignition interlock device that will help monitor the behaviors of someone previously charged with these kinds of traffic violations. Knowing about specific rules and restrictions for convicted drivers is part of building a personal defense in local courts. What Is an...
Continue ReadingOne of the many processes that DUI/DWI-convicted North Carolina drivers will go through is the eventual reinstatement of a suspended license. License suspensions vary, depending on the type of offense, multiple offense status, and other factors. One thing that many defendants don’t understand about license reinstatement is that, like other aspects of working through a violation conviction, it will...
Continue ReadingFollowing a Freedom of Information Act request by the ACLU of Florida, it has come to light that Florida police have been concealing the use of “stingrays,” which are essentially dummy cell towers that trick individuals’ cellphones into pinging through these fake towers, in order to collect personal information without the consent or knowledge of those being tracked. From...
Continue ReadingIf you’re keeping tabs at home, there was yet another unconstitutional DWI checkpoint (roadblock) executed in Raleigh on January 31, 2014, at Glenwood Avenue and St. Marys Street. Forty-three of your tax-funded law enforcement officers were not fighting violent crimes that evening while they were arresting citizens on their way home from dinner. And, as they like to do,...
Continue Reading