How to Beat a DUI/ DWI: Winning Defense Strategies

If you’re facing DUI/ DWI charges in North Carolina, you may feel overwhelmed, worried, or scared. Don’t worry; you’re not alone. Thousands of people each year are arrested for impaired driving. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t beat the charges and come out clean. Many defense strategies are available, and with the help of a knowledgeable and experienced attorney, you have a good chance of winning your case! This blog post will discuss how to beat a DUI/DWI in North Carolina and move forward with your life!

DUI vs. DWI in North Carolina

In North Carolina, “Driving Under the Influence” or “DUI” is the same charge as “Driving While Impaired” or “DWI.” Facing a DWI/ DUI charge for driving under the influence or driving impaired with a blood alcohol level of .08 or more is always illegal.

You can face DWI/ DUI charges if police find you:

• With a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of 0.08% or more
• Appreciably (i.e. noticeably) impaired even if they don’t have results of alcohol or drug in your system
• With any amount of Schedule I controlled substances (G.S. 90-89) or metabolites in your blood or urine.

In any case, you will likely face a breath machine or another chemical test. However, don’t make the first mistake of submitting to field sobriety tests. Let’s look at that next.

Refusing Field Sobriety Tests

Do not agree to blow into any roadside or portable device for testing alcohol if a police officer asks you, and also refuse any other sobriety field tests. Remember: it is entirely unnecessary to comply with these requests.

Non-standardized tests and even standard field sobriety testing can give misleading results. The one-leg stand test is an excellent example of a roadside test with unreliable results. Even if a police officer is uncertain about your possible intoxication, do not attempt to take a roadside breath test; it will only worsen the situation.

However, when you refuse roadside testing, you can face arrest for suspicion of DWI. If an officer believes you may be under the influence of alcohol or drugs, they have every right to arrest and investigate further at the station. However, if you are an impaired driver, waiting to take a DUI breath test at the station after your arrest is better than submitting to a roadside test.

An arrest is not a conviction for drunk driving. A field sobriety test or portable breath testing devices can only hurt your DWI/ DUI case. However, if you’ve already taken a portable breath test, don’t worry. An excellent DWI/ DUI attorney may get a court to recognize a portable breath test inadmissible.

Getting Your Best Blood Urine and Breath Test Results

Tell the officer you would like to call an attorney or other person to witness your breathalyzer test at the police station. By law, the officers must give you 30 minutes for your attorney or another witness to arrive and observe a breath, urine, or blood test.

The breath testing device at the station is not portable and is more reliable. If law enforcement arrests you, they will do DWI/ DUI blood tests and other chemical tests to determine if you were drinking alcohol or taking other drugs. Ensure that your witness is there watching your breath test operator perform valid sobriety tests.

What a DUI/DWI Defense Attorney Can Do to Help

If you’re facing DUI/ DWI charges in North Carolina, you should know that every case is different. It’s essential to talk with an experienced DUI/DWI defense attorney to get the best advice for your specific situation.

You and your skilled DUI/DWI  lawyer may consider one or more of the defenses below:

Illegal Stop

An officer can’t legally pull over your vehicle unless there’s a reason to believe you have broken a traffic or other law (“reasonable suspicion”). The officer must be able to articulate specific facts for why they suspected you were breaking the law before they stopped you.

Inaccurate Sobriety Test

A standard DWI defending argument is that the officer did not conduct the standardized field sobriety tests appropriately. This argument might lead the courts to reject evidence collected during a roadside stop. 

In addition, the walk-and-turn test and other physical evaluations performed by police officers do not always reflect the driver’s level of intoxication. Factors such as injuries, body size, or being over a certain age can affect your performance on a field sobriety test, regardless of your impairment level.

Invalid or Non-Standardized Tests

Some methods used by police to assess sobriety are not uniform or effective for detecting DWI. For that reason, a lawyer may challenge a field test. Some commonly questioned tests include:

• Finger-to-nose test
• Reciting the alphabet
• Counting backward

Breath tests aren’t perfect. Breath testing instruments have margins of error. If the only proof against you in a DUI/DWI investigation is a breath test, an experienced DUI/DWI defense lawyer may argue that the test operator did not calibrate the breath testing instrument properly.

An experienced DUI/DWI attorney can also refute other DUI/DWI chemical test results.

Improper Seizure

If the arresting officer fails to abide by legal regulations, any evidence gathered during a traffic stop may be deemed inadmissible in court.

Examples of improper seizures include an officer who:

• Didn’t have probable cause to stop you
• Held you beyond an appropriate amount of time 

Depending on the improper seizure, courts may dismiss your case and deem any proof against you inadmissible.

Misleading Officer Observations

In DWI cases, the police officer’s observations and impressions of a driver during the stop can provide powerful evidence against them.

During your arrest, the officer might record observations that could be used against you in court. These may include if the officer notes that you:

• Were weaving
• Ran a red light
• Exhibited slurred speech 

A qualified Raleigh DWI lawyer is your best chance at finding a successful outcome for your 

case. They can challenge the officer’s findings and present evidence to counter their claims, significantly weakening the prosecution’s stance.

Contrary Evidence to Defend You

Witnesses to your arrest are beneficial allies who may be able to vouch for you. Your passengers or even passersby might support that you hadn’t consumed alcohol before getting behind the wheel, appeared sober at the time of arrest, or were simply guilty of a traffic violation – like texting and driving-rather than DUI/DWI.

Other Evidence a DUI/DWI Defense Lawyer May Use

If there is an alternate explanation for your circumstances during the time of your arrest, this could constitute a viable defense. It’s possible that other valid explanations exist to explain why you looked, acted or sounded impaired on the day in question.

Impairment could be a consequence of several medical or health problems, including:

• A hip injury could cause you to walk funny or fall during a field test
• Lack of sleep could cause bloodshot eyes or slurred speech. 
• Cold or rainy weather might cause poor performance on a sobriety test

Formal Legal Defenses From An Experienced DUI/DWI Lawyer

The Knoll Motion Defense

In 1984, the North Carolina court case of Knoll made headlines when officers measured Mr. Knoll’s blood alcohol content at an alarming .30– almost four times the legal limit! Despite this, his attorney successfully defended him against the state’s rights violations and allowed for a dismissal of charges.

By unjustifiably detaining you on bond, a magistrate is impinging upon your rights to locate witnesses who can verify that there was no criminal misconduct during your DWI arrest. If you have not been convicted and present no risk to yourself or anyone else, the magistrate has no legal basis for setting any bond for you.

You are entitled to the presence of witnesses when building your defense. If a magistrate unjustifiably confines you in jail on an exaggerated bond, they deny you this right! A judge may even dismiss your case without it ever entering the courtroom if such unlawful circumstances occur!

The Ferguson Motion Defense

As a resident of NC, you possess the fundamental right to have an approved witness present when taking a breath test. Not only is this your constitutional privilege, but it’s also mandated by law that officers provide you with access to your witness.

An officer must also read your rights to you, including:

• You have 30 minutes to contact a witness who can meet you at a station to observe your test.
• You may call a witness to observe any breath, urine, or blood test.

If your witness arrives on schedule, but law enforcement refuses to let them watch you take the test, they have violated your rights. The judge may disregard your chemical testing results or even end the case if:

• The officer does not read you your DWI informed consent rights.
• Your witness arrives, but officers do not allow them to enter the intox room to observe your testing.

If officers violate your rights in this way, the judge can suppress any test results and even dismiss your case entirely.

The Absher Motion Defense

Back in 2009, one of the most notorious DUI/DWI cases occurred when officers allowed the destruction of a video resulting in adverse outcomes for a Mr. Absher.

This incident is now memorialized as an ‘Absher Motion’, a robust defense tool when seeking dismissal of DWI/ DUI charges due to evidence destruction or loss. If law enforcement loses or destroys evidence that could have possibly proven your innocence, you can invoke the Absher motion defense.

Loss of evidence often occurs when:

• Someone mislabels a video
• Footage download doesn’t work
• Accidentally deleting any footage

Even if there is no nefarious intent behind the missing evidence, you can still find a successful outcome with this motion.

By filing an Absher Motion, you can seek dismissal of your case if officers neglected to retain evidence that could’ve exonerated you or served as a valuable tool for your attorney during cross-examination.

The North Carolina State Government is legally obligated to supply evidence of your innocence, even if you do not ask for it explicitly. However, should you require items that can prove your defense and the government fails to comply with this request, they clearly violate your constitutional rights.

Preparing Strategy For Initial Court Appearance

Collaborate closely with your defense attorney to utilize their strategies and tactics. Your attorney can help you understand the particulars of your detainment, critical evidence for court proceedings, and what steps you can take next.

Understanding this information ahead of time will give you a greater chance of developing an effective strategy for defending yourself in your upcoming legal proceedings.

Gather Expert Witnesses

In a DWI trial, it’s essential to demonstrate that the prosecution does not have concrete evidence of your intoxication or impairment. A wise defense strategy can be to enlist expert witnesses, like a toxicologist specializing in BAC levels and drug detection testing, to provide testimony on your behalf.

The prosecution is likely to call on its own specialist witnesses, such as law enforcement officers who are professionals in the field of DWI laws.

Interview Eyewitnesses

Your attorney may decide it’s in your best interest to present testimony from other individuals. Witnesses could include those present during your arrest, such as a fellow passenger or an onlooker. Your attorney may conduct interviews and compile valid rebuttal evidence using their testimonies.

Expert witnesses are rarely family or friends. Nonetheless, if one can corroborate your story and discredit the evidence presented against you, having them present during the court proceedings makes sense.

File Motions to Suppress Evidence

Your lawyer will look into your arrest and determine whether the police officer unlawfully acquired any proof.

If the evidence presented against you is inadmissible, your attorney can petition for a motion to suppress evidence in a pretrial hearing. If the judge accepts the motion, the prosecution cannot use the evidence during trial proceedings. Moreover, there’s even the potential for the judge to dismiss your case altogether!

Our Experienced DWI/ DUI Attorneys Can Help

At Scharff Law, an experienced DWI/ DUI attorney is always available to fight DWI/DUI charges using every defense available to you in North Carolina! We have extensive knowledge of the DWI/ DUI laws and can provide the legal advice necessary to resolve your case successfully.

We understand that facing DWI/ DUI charges is incredibly stressful and intimidating, so we do whatever it takes to ensure zealous representation and your best outcome! Reach out now for help with your unique circumstances. With our legal expertise on your side, you have an ally fighting for your freedom and future.

Get in touch today for a free consultation and find out how you can start moving forward with your life!