North Carolina Driving While Intoxicated: When you have a Right to Refuse

One of the greatest misconceptions when it comes to a http://raleighdwiattorney.blogspot.com/>North Carolina DWI Stop, (or any stop for that matter) is the fact that you, as a U.S. Citizen, have the right to refuse all requested questions and/or tests, without repercussions; save one exception (that exception being the Intoxilyzer orIntoximeter - this will be discussed further in the article). Let me repeat this statement, when stopped by an officer, and the officer has a suspicion regarding you Driving While Intoxicated, you can refuse to answer any of their questions (the most common one is 'How much have you had to drink tonight'), you can refuse to perform any pre-exit tests (normally in the form of counting, alphabet, or finger dexterity tests), you can refuse to perform any Field Sobriety Test, and you can refuse to blow into the handheld Portable Breath Test (not to be confused with the Intoxilyzer or Intoximeter) without any repercussions. Now, that is not to say that you will not still be arrested for suspicion of DWI; you may be arrested, you may not, but by refusing to answer any questions and refusing to perform any of the tests and/or refuse to blow in the portable breathalyzer test, you are limiting what evidence the State will have against you 1. at the point the officer decides whether they have Probable Cause to arrest as well as 2. should you be arrested, at your trial.

The reality is, most people perform theses tests for one of two reasons, either they believe they are required to cooperate with the Officer's investigation or they believe it will help them avoid the ticket. For the first part, as mentioned before, you are NOT REQUIRED to answer questions or perform any of these tests. As for helping you avoid the ticket; unless you are stone-cold sober and want to perform theses tests to prove it, it's not recommended to do it. Even if you do not have a blood-alcohol level of .08, you can still be charged and ultimately convicted under the 'appreciable impairment' portion of the N.C. DWI Statute. Most officer's will tell you that they would love for you to cooperate, it WILL NOT encourage them to 'look the other way.'

So, what should you do? Well, as I tell all my clients, ALWAYS BE POLITE AND RESPECTFUL! Officer's jobs are hard enough, there's no reason to be rude to them. Just simply tell them that you do not wish to answer their questions or perform any tests. HOWEVER, DO NOT RESIST AN OFFICER. If they ask you to exit the vehicle, it's likely for the purpose of officer safety and you could be charged with Resist, Obstruct or Delay.

Finally, as for the Intoxilyzer or Intoximeter, these are the machines the Officer's have you blow in AFTER you are arrested and once you are down at booking. These machines are much larger then the hand-held portable breath test and normally occupy a counter top. Refusing to blow into these machines carry with it a one year suspension of your driving privileges in North Carolina and you are unable to obtain a Limited Driving Privilege for the first 6 months. In addition to that, the Officer can always get a warrant to draw your blood if you refuse so they may get the evidence either way. Therefore, I never recommend what an individual should do when facing the Intoxilyzer or Intoximeter; this is an individual choice that each person needs to make for themselves.

If you are facing a North Carolina DWI charge, speak with a local DWI attorney to best advice you on how to proceed with your case.

Disclaimer - Information and advice offered in this article is for informational and educational purposes only and is specific to North Carolina law. The viewing, receipt and/or exchange of information from this article does not constitute an Attorney-Client Relationship. For assistance regarding your particular legal question speak with an Attorney practicing in the field from which your questions derives.

Related Articles - North Carolina DWI, Driving While Intoxicated, Driving under the influence, right to refuse, field sobriety test, portable breath test, intoxilzyer,

Email this Article to a Friend! Receive Articles like this one direct to your email box! Subscribe for free today!