Habitual DWI Lawyers
Our Habitual DWI attorneys that fight for you and care about you.
Our Habitual DWI Lawyers Are Here To Help
In North Carolina, a DWI is typically charged as a misdemeanor. However, if a person is charged with DWI and has been convicted of 3 prior DWI offenses within 10 years of the new date of offense, the State may charge the driver with Habitual Driving While Impaired. When the State brings a habitual DWI charge, getting a legal team experienced in DWI law on your side becomes all the more important.
A Habitual DWI is punishable as a Class F Felony, and has a 12 month minimum sentence and 59 month maximum sentence. Because a habitual DWI charge is a felony, the case must typically be indicted by a grand jury in the county of the offense and then proceed through the legal process in Superior Court (most misdemeanor DWI cases are handled at the district court).
A person convicted of Habitual DWI will also have his driver’s license permanently revoked by the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (NC DMV).
At Minick Law, P.C., we realize the chaos that a possible felony conviction and lengthy jail sentence can have in your life. Our first goal is to answer the many questions about how to handle the habitual DWI charge and how this charge will impact your life.
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Habitual DWI Defense
Aggressive Habitual DWI Defense
We concentrate our criminal defense practice in DWI representation. Our legal team has handled hundreds of DWI cases. Our attorneys spend a significant amount of time researching, writing about, and studying the laws in North Carolina related to Driving While Impaired.
Putting forth the best defense often requires looking at your case from the State’s perspective. Our North Carolina DWI attorneys are also required to attend the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 24 hour DUI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) Course, the same training received by many officers that charge DWI in North Carolina.
Our Habitual DWI Process
Many of our clients facing a habitual DWI in North Carolina are battling alcoholism or other addictions. Our fight for you does not begin and end in the courtroom. Our goal is to help you get the support you need to make sure the terrible situation you are facing does not happen again. Addiction is a serious illness and we want to provide you with resources that help to address this issue so that you can change your life for the better. Your struggles are not simply legal and we take a wholistic approach to your case.
We will sit down with you and come up with a game plan that will put us in the best possible position to face any criminal sentence that might result from a conviction for habitual DWI. We want our clients to be engaged in preparing for worst case scenario so that we can work toward the best possible outcome.
Elements of Habitual DWI in North Carolina
In order to prove habitual impaired driving, the district attorney must show:
- The defendant was driving;
- A vehicle;
- On a public highway;
- While impaired; AND
- Has at least three prior convictions of impaired driving within the 10 years prior to the date of offense of the current impaired driving charge.
N.C.G.S. § 138.5. Proving Habitual DWI simply requires the additional component of there prior convictions within 10 years. The prior convictions need not be in North Carolina. The DA may be able to use convictions from other States or the Federal court system.
A Cup of Coffee with 10 of the Top DUI Attorneys in the United States
James Minick is the co-author of A Cup of Coffee with 10 of the Top DUI Attorneys in the United States. This is meant to be a guidebook for anyone facing a DWI charge and its consequences.
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