Five Questions to Ask When Hiring Your DWI Lawyer
Let’s get straight to the point: no one wants to be arrested for Driving While Impaired. Unfortunately, many people find themselves ending a night of drinking in the back of a police car and getting charged with DWI. This charge carries many consequences and the process is often different from what people expect.
My clients have the most anxiety and stress at the beginning of their cases when they know the least about what could happen and their fears and worries fill in the blanks. Information can be the key to helping you get through this complicated process with less fear, worry and fewer sleepless nights.
To help you know the right questions to ask during your Case Evaluation meeting with our Greensboro DWI lawyers, I’ve outlined the five most important questions you should ask to get the most information about your case at the beginning.
1. What is going to happen to my license before my court date?
In the majority of cases, when you are arrested for DWI in North Carolina the magistrate at the jail will take your license. That is called a Civil Revocation and is automatic if you blew .08 BAC (blood alcohol content) or higher. It doesn’t have anything to do with whether the prosecutor can win a case against you or whether you are found guilty or innocent. It is purely based on the fact that an officer believed there was probable cause to arrest you for DWI and your BAC result was over the legal limit.
This Civil Revocation lasts for 30 days. On the 31st day from the day you were arrested, you can get your license back. You or your attorney will need to go personally to the courthouse where your court date is set and pay the $100 Civil Revocation fee to the clerk of Superior Court to get your license returned.
Now that you have your license back in your hand, you can drive without any restrictions. Your license will be just as good as it was before you were arrested. That means that until your case is resolved, there are no new restrictions on your driver’s license caused by the DWI charge. This is because you are now either awaiting trial or a plea in your case and your guilt has not yet been proven. The outcome of your case will change your license status if you are convicted but until then, you’re free to drive just like before.
2. I refused the Intoxilyzer breath test at the jail or refused to let the police test my blood. They said my license is revoked for a year. Can anything be done to get my license back?
If you refused to take the breath test or provide blood at the jail, your license will be automatically revoked for one year based on your refusal to provide a breath sample. If you said you would not take the test or never attempted it, there is nothing that can be done to reverse this one year loss of your license.
However, if you tried to take the test and weren’t able to get a result or the Intoxilyzer machine timed out while you were trying to blow into the testing tube, there is an appeal process that exists with the DMV to try to reverse the one year revocation of your license. You can request a hearing with a DMV officer at the local DMV office.
The appeal process requires that you demonstrate to the officer that you did not willfully or intentionally refuse the test. One legitimate reason for not being able to provide a breath sample would be a medical condition such as emphysema or asthma that would prevent someone from being able to blow strongly enough to trigger the test. If you have a medical diagnosis that could have been the reason you were not able to provide a breath sample, you need to talk to an attorney immediately about an appeal and DMV hearing.
In order for you and your attorney determine that you have grounds for an appeal, you will need to act quickly. The appeal process has very strict timing and the period for filing an appeal can expire very early in your case.
If you have been reported to have refused the Intoxilyzer or blood test, contact an attorney immediately. If you wait until close to your first court date, you will most likely lose your chance for an appeal.
3. Was I pulled over legally?
The question of whether the police stopped you legally is the first part of an attorney’s evaluation of any DWI case in North Carolina. This question can get complicated and specific to your individual case. Do not assume that the stop was legal just because you also were given a traffic ticket or because the officer mentioned that you were swerving. An experienced DWI attorney will know how to properly evaluate your case and discuss this issue with you.
If the officer’s reason for stopping you is not strong enough, your lawyer can prevent a judge or jury from even hearing about everything that happened as a result of your vehicle being pulled over by law enforcement. That means that if your case is appropriate, a successful Motion to Suppress evidence based on a “bad stop” can be the key to beating the prosecutor’s case against you. It is one of the most far reaching tools your attorney has available. Ask your criminal lawyer to learn if a Suppression Motion may help win your case.
4. What do I need to do while we prepare for my DWI case?
The first thing about your case that you must do is not to talk about the facts with anyone or post ANYTHING on the internet about it. The best way to ruin your defense is to talk about it with people other than your lawyer. Remember that your communications with your lawyer are confidential for a reason. The police, prosecutors and witnesses can access social media (and they do) and anything you send out there may come back to haunt you and your lawyer.
Second, talk to your DWI lawyer about the expected costs that you will face at the end of your case. You need to know about the costs of getting the mandatory DWI assessment and classes, community service and the estimated court costs and fines you may owe. An early idea of these costs can help you prevent a surprise later in your case and give you the opportunity to make financial arrangements.
Third, communicate with your DWI lawyer. Ask questions, express concerns about how this could affect your job, family and overall life. These things are important for your lawyer to know so that your concerns and questions can be addressed. Your attorney may not be able to fix all the problems that getting a DWI can bring but she may have just the fix for your particular worry or problem. Working together with your legal team is important to getting you the best result for YOUR case.
The fourth and most important thing you can do before your case goes in front of a judge for your final date is to get a DWI assessment with a licensed assessing agency. As I mentioned above, a DWI assessment is required of anyone convicted of DWI in North Carolina. I advise all of my clients to get their DWI assessment completed before court, even if we are going to trial. I do this because you can get your punishment reduced in many DWI convictions simply by showing the judge that you’ve completed your assessment before your final court date. It is such a strong factor in reducing punishment that it is a good idea to do it, even if we ultimately win at trial. At least we had it ready to hand up to a judge if the case had not gone our way.
These four basic strategies can prevent you from unintentionally sabotaging your case and can even boost your results when you use them as part of your case plan with your attorney.
5. How long might it take to finish my case?
DWI cases in North Carolina can take much longer than most of my clients expect. It is not uncommon for cases to be pending for up to a year in many standard cases or much longer if a blood test is involved. Talk to your lawyer about the expected timeline for your case and make sure you know what to expect.
Any case can have surprise delays but you want to make sure that you know that your lawyer is moving your case quickly and intentionally through the process. You will also want to know that you have everything you need to do finished and ready for your lawyer when it’s time to go in front of a judge.
Our clients get a Customized Case Plan that outlines the timeline for your case, deadlines for anything you may need to provide and a reasonable expectation for the time needed to get you to the end of your case. That plan helps us all work together in a team approach as we work to fight against your case and help you move forward.
Finding yourself in the criminal court system is never something you plan on. If you do face a charge for DWI in Greensboro, there is no need to feel helpless. The more information you have, the fewer unknowns you have to fear. Ask these questions in your first meeting with a lawyer to learn more about your case and to learn about your attorney’s approach to fighting against your DWI charge.
To ask our Greensboro DWI lawyers these five questions and any others you have,
call us at 336-802-1090 to schedule a free Case Evaluation and Custom Case Plan.