FAQ

DWI FAQs

• How much will this cost me?

  See Rule #3. Each case is fact-specific and may require a differing amount of labor for both of us. If you are convicted, we will do our best to prepare you with an estimate of the court costs and fines you will owe.

  You can expect the following: court cost = $193; DWI fee = $100; community service fee = $250; Fine = $0-$10,000 (The following fines are estimates based on our experience in Rowan County, however, please refer to Rule #3: Level 5 = $100; Level 4 = $150; Level 3 = $250; Level 2 = $500; Level 1 - $1,000; Aggravated Level 1 = $2,000).

• Does the attorney fee include court costs and fines?

  No. The attorney fee is separate and apart from the court costs, fines, and fees you may be responsible for as part of a judgment.
• Will I go to jail?

  See Rule #3. The judge in your case will weigh a variety of factors called mitigating, aggravating, and grossly aggravating factors to determine whether you should be sent to jail. Mitigating factors help you. These are things that make you look more favorable to the judge. Aggravating factors hurt you. These are things that make your case less favorable to the judge. Grossly aggravating factors are things the NC legislature believe deserve extra attention and weigh more heavily in the judge’s decision. Once the judge determines which factors exist, he weighs them and places you on a level of sentencing.
• What are the mitigating, aggravating, and grossly aggravating factors?

  Grossly Aggravating Factors:

  1. A qualifying prior conviction for an offense involving impaired driving.
  2. Driving while your license was revoked for an impaired driving offense.
  3. Serious injury to another person caused by the defendant's impaired driving.
  4. Driving with (i) a child under the age of 18 years, (ii) a person with the mental development of a child under the age of 18 years, or (iii) a person with a physical disability preventing unaided exit from the vehicle.

  Aggravating factors (most common):

  1. Gross impairment of the defendant's faculties (i.e., BAC of 0.15 or more)
  2. Especially reckless or dangerous driving.
  3. Negligent driving that led to a reportable accident.
  4. Driving with a non-impaired revoked license.
  5. A bad driving record. 

  Mitigating Factors:

  1. Slight impairment of the defendant's faculties solely from alcohol (i.e., BAC of 0.09 or less).
  2. Driving at the time of the offense that was safe and lawful except for the impairment.
  3. A safe driving record.
  4. Impairment of the defendant's faculties caused primarily by a lawfully prescribed drug.
  5. Voluntary submission to a pretrial substance abuse assessment. 
  6. Completion of a substance abuse assessment, compliance with its recommendations, and simultaneously maintaining 60 days of continuous abstinence from alcohol consumption, as proven by a continuous alcohol monitoring system.
• Will I go to jail (part II)?

  DWI sentencing is set forth in N.C.G.S § 20-179. A judge must not deviate from this structure. There are six levels that a person could be sentenced at, from least severe to most severe: Level 5, Level 4, Level 3, Level 2. Level 1, Aggravated Level 1. The following chart sets forth what each level includes:

  Level V

  Minimum:

  • Unsupervised probation (12 months)
  • Loss of NCDL (12 months)
  • Limited driving privilege (if you qualify) 
  • Substance abuse assessment and treatment
  • 24 hours of community service
  • Court costs and fine 
  • Be of good general behavior and not violate the law of NC.

  Maximum:

  • 60 days in jail
  • $200.00 fine 

  Level IV

  Minimum:

  • Unsupervised probation (12 months)
  • Loss of NCDL (12 months)
  • Limited driving privilege (if you qualify) 
  • Substance abuse assessment and treatment
  • 48 hours of community service
  • Court costs and fine 
  • Be of good general behavior and not violate the law of NC.

  Maximum:

  • 120 days in jail
  • $500.00 fine

  Level III

  Minimum:

  • Supervised probation (12 months)
  • Loss of NCDL (12 months)
  • Limited driving privilege (if you qualify) 
  • Substance abuse assessment and treatment
  • 72 hours of community service 
  • Court costs and fine 
  • Be of good general behavior and not violate the law of NC. 

  Maximum:

  • 6 months in jail
  • $1,000.00 fine

  Level II

  Minimum:

  • 7 days in jail (may reduce to 0 with (1) Inpatient treatment or (2) continuous alcohol monitoring for 90 days (60 days pretrial available) 
  • Supervised probation
  • Substance abuse assessment and treatment
  • Court costs and fines 
  • Loss of NCDL (12 months minimum)
  • No limited driving privilege
  • Good behavior and not violate laws of the state of North Carolina. 
  • Judge can require abstinence from alcohol for full term of probation.

  Maximum:

  • 12 months in jail
  • $2,000 fine

  Level I

  Minimum:

  • 30 days in jail (may reduce to 0 with Inpatient treatment or may reduce to 10 days with continuous alcohol monitoring for 120 days (60 days pretrial available) 
  • Supervised probation
  • Substance abuse assessment and treatment
  • Court costs and fines 
  • Loss of NCDL (12 months minimum)
  • No limited driving privilege
  • Good behavior and not violate laws of the state of North Carolina. 
  • Judge can require abstinence from alcohol for full term of probation.

  Maximum:

  • Two years in jail 
  • $4,000.00 fine

  Level IA

  Minimum:

  • Minimum 12 months in jail
  • If suspended, no less than 120 days in jail as a special condition of probation with requirement to abstain from alcohol for 120 days as monitored by CAM device

  Maximum:

  • 36 months in jail 
  • $10,000.00 fine
  • Not eligible for parole
• What is an LDP?

  See Rule #3. There is an automatic 30-day civil revocation for any alcohol impaired driving offense.

  20-day LDP - There is a 20-day Limited Driving Privilege in some DWI cases. This is for the last 20 days of the 30 day civil revocation period. 

  Standard LDP – If you are convicted and surrender your license, you may be eligible for a limited driving privilege. This privilege will be submitted to the judge at the time you are sentenced.

  Interlock LDP – If you are convicted and your blood alcohol content was 0.15 or above, you will have to install the ignition interlock device in your car. See Rule #1!

  Exceptions

  CDL holders are not eligible for an LDP. There is no LDP for a Class A or B driver's license. However, CDL holders may qualify for a Class “C” LDP. Certain things must be done early in the DWI case process so that commercial drivers can get a limited driving privilege for a Class “C” license. See Rule # 1!

  To qualify for any Limited Driving Privilege, you must comply with certain rules and show them to the judge at the time of the application.  See Rule #1!

• Will I be able to drive? Where to? For what?

  See Rule #3. A judge may grant a limited driving privilege for essential purposes only. You may be eligible if: 

  1.  At the time of the offense, the person held either a valid driver's license or a license that had expired for less than one year; 
  2. At the time of the offense, the person had not within the preceding seven years been convicted of an offense involving impaired driving;
  3. Punishment Level Three, Four, or Five was imposed for the offense of impaired driving;
  4. Subsequent to the offense, the person has not been convicted of, or had an unresolved charge lodged against the person for, an offense involving impaired driving; and
  5. The person has obtained and filed with the court a substance abuse assessment of the type required by  G.S. 20-17.6 for the restoration of a driver's license.

  Essential purposes include: 

  1. The person's employment.
  2. The maintenance of the person's household.
  3. The person's education.
  4. The person's court-ordered treatment or assessment.
  5. Community service ordered as a condition of the person's probation.
  6. Emergency medical care.
  7. Religious worship.

  General rules for Standard LDPs

  1.  Driving for standard hours 6 AM – 8 PM
  2. Non-standard hours require a letter from your employer and/or pastor 
  3. DL 123 form – insurance form 
  4. Binder for non-fleet private passenger motor vehicle
  5. $100.00 certification fee for all LDP’s

  WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, REFER TO RULE #1!