While drunk driving accidents have been on the decline in the past few years, drunk driving is still a major problem in the United States and a leading cause of car accidents. The most recent statistics released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that approximately 28 people die in car accidents every day […]
Probable Cause for DWI
The majority of Charlotte NC DWI DUI cases wherein an individual has been arrested takes place without a warrant. As such, the State has the burden of proof to prove that the officer had “probable cause” to arrest the driver.
Probable Cause has been defined by the NC Courts as “a reasonable ground of suspicion supported by sufficiently strong circumstances to warrant a cautious man in believing the accused to be guilty.”
The Court has to look at the specific case and facts of the arrest to determine whether the facts support the officer in believing the driver of being guilty of dwi. The the State fails to established those facts and the officer arrested the driver anyway then the driver’s Constitutional rights have been violated. In that case the arrest is deemed unconstitutional and any evidence gathered as a result should be excluded. The end result typcially results in a dismissal of the case.
A Charlotte DUI attorney from Rosensteel Fleishman Car Accident & Injury Lawyers will review your case to determine whether your Constitutional rights have been infringed. If your rights have been violated we will fight to have your case thrown out. This is the first avenue our attorney will look into to get your case dismissed.
One of the first areas a Charlotte DWI lawyer of Rosensteel Fleishman will look at is whether there was “Reasonable Suspicion” to pull you over in the first place, prior to being charged with your NC DWI/DUI. In North Carolina an officer can stop you if he witnesses criminal conduct. In other words if you break a traffic law the cop can pull you over.
If, however, you have not broken any laws, the officer may conduct a brief investigatory stop only if there are specific, articulable facts that the officer can point to that allow him reasonably to “conclude in light of his experience that criminal activity may be afoot.” If the officer does not have these type of facts then the stop is unconstitutional and any evidence gathered as a result should be excluded.
In other words, if the officer can’t justify the initial stop then the rest of the process is invalid which usually means the NC DWI case has to be dismissed.
In North Carolina DWI DUI cases a Charlotte DWI DUI attorney from Rosensteel Fleishman will review your case to determine whether your Constitutional rights have been infringed. If your rights have been violated we will fight to have your case thrown out.
In all Charlotte DWI DUI cases we will let you know your cost up front – with no surprises. That is our promise to you. At Rosensteel Fleishman we frequently work with both in state and out of state clients. For our clients’ convenience we accept payment over the phone with Visa or MasterCard.
Call (704) 714-1450 to make an appointment to speak with a Charlotte DWI attorney, or stop by the office during regular business hours. We will schedule an appointment that meets your needs.
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Talking PC: Probable Cause and Flawed Police DWI Arrest
I. PC for DWI An experienced Charlotte criminal trial attorney is aware of the unique place that DWI charges can play in North Carolina courts. There’s no doubt that the public generally supports crackdowns on DWI offenses in North Carolina. But here’s the news flash: as important as DWI is, to maintaining public safety, it’s […]
