The Constable’s Error in DUI DWI Cases
In fighting Charlotte DUI charges there are a number of factors that an experienced attorney will examine. Most of those factors have to do with the events before the drunk driving arrest. Things like driving, performance of field sobriety tests, and physical appearance are generally relevant prior to arrest, and not relevant after arrest. However, there are some factors that are particularly important after a DWI arrest.
One of the factors a DWI lawyer at Rosensteel Fleishman will ask a client about is the amount of time that he or she is held after arrest. The reason that this is relevant is that there is long standing case law regarding a person’s right to release after a DWI arrest. The North Carolina Supreme Court has held: “When one is taken into police custody for an offense of which intoxication is an essential element, time is of the essence. Intoxication does not last….if one accused of driving while intoxicated is to have witnesses for his defense, he must have access to his counsel, friends, relatives, or some disinterested person within a relatively short time after his arrest.”
The rationale is clear, if a person is denied access to his witnesses for a long period of time after his arrest, then the only witnesses to the crime are the police officers and jailers who are detaining him. The court made it clear that it would not: “assume both the infallibility and credibility of the State’s witnesses as well as the certitude of their tests.” For this reason the Court has found in some cases that the detention of a person cited with a North Carolina DWI violates the individual’s Due Process rights under the United States Constitution. Thus, dependent upon the length of the detention and a number of other factors, the judge on a given case is sometimes forced to dismiss the case based upon the Constitutional violation.
For this and many other reasons it is important that you contact an experienced DWI attorney at Rosensteel Fleishman, PLLC, to handle your North Carolina DWI/DUI.
