North Carolina DWI Convictions Inconsistent
A study of DWI cases in North Carolina finds that conviction is
largely dependent on where the person is arrested and who the judge
is hearing the case, the Charlotte Observer reported Aug. 8.
Under North Carolina law, a driver with a 0.08 percent or greater
blood-alcohol level is considered impaired. According to the study
by the Charlotte Observer, most drivers charged with DWI plead guilty.
However, the study found that between January 2002 and February
2004, judges acquitted more than 3,500 DWI offenders. The number
of acquittals varies from county to county.
For instance, in the mountain counties of McDowell, Rutherford,
and Transylvania, 98 out of 100 people who fight their DWI charges
in court are convicted. But in the coastal counties of Carteret,
Craven, and Pamlico, fewer than 10 percent are convicted. The conviction
rate is also less than 15 percent in Wake County, which includes
Raleigh. In the Charlotte region, the conviction rate varies from
80 percent in Cabarrus County to just below the 63-percent state
average in Gaston and Mecklenburg counties.
"That's troubling," said North Carolina Supreme Court
Chief Justice Beverly Lake Jr. "I'm astounded at the wide disparity
in conviction rates between judges. I don't understand."
"Something is terribly wrong," said Cheryl Jones, a national
vice president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. "We have very
good laws. But we have judges who are doing whatever they please.
They aren't following the law. Every one a judge lets off thinks
they have beaten the system and they're going to do it again."
Since 2000, North Carolina judges have acquitted more than 120
suspects who were later convicted in other DWI cases.
Many judges said they acquit people who register 0.08 or 0.09 because
there is no proof of additional signs of impairment. "The Intoxilyzer
is just another piece of evidence," said Cumberland County
Judge Ed Donaldson. "It may be a major factor. It may not be.
I'm looking at the whole picture."
Furthermore, judges said cases that go to trial sometimes have
weak evidence. Occasionally, there is reasonable doubt beyond the
Intoxilyzer reading, such as whether there were adequate reasons
for police to stop or arrest the driver.
"I look at the total package -- the driving, the police officer's
observations, and the field sobriety tests," said Paul Gessner
a district judge in Wake County. "I'm not just letting people
go. I'm acquitting people when the state can't prove its case."
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