If you have been charged with DWI in North Carolina, you should seriously consider hiring an attorney to represent you in court. There are a lot of situations where you may NOT need an attorney. This is not one of them.

There are dozens of errors a law enforcement officer can make during the course of your arrest that could lead to lesser penalties for you - or even a dismissal of your charge. You should have an attorney who knows how to look for those possible errors and how to argue them to the court on your behalf.

The State's strongest evidence against you may be the results of the Intoxilyzer 5000 blood alcohol breath test. I am one of only a couple of dozen North Carolina attorneys who are certified operators of the Intoxilyzer 5000 pursuant to USDOT regulations. I can use the detailed knowledge I have of the machine to determine if mistakes were made in your case with this crucial piece of evidence.

Even if you choose to plead guilty to this charge in court and this is your first DWI, there are things you can do BEFORE your court date to improve the ultimate disposition of this matter. If you don't know about all of the things you can do to minimize the consequences of this charge - you should hire an attorney.

Your privilege to drive, the amount you pay in insurance premiums and even your freedom are at stake.

If you and I decide your case is not one that is likely to be won at trial, and this is your first DWI, you should be prepared to pay the Court $120 in court costs and up to $500 (typically $100 to $300) in fines.

You will also be given a choice of serving 24 hours in the County Jail or performing 24 hours of Community Service and paying a $200 Community Service fee.

If you can pay the costs and fines on your court date, you may be placed on unsupervised probation for up to a year. If you cannot pay on that date, the judge may place you on supervised probation until you can pay and then may allow you to be transferred to unsupervised probation. Keep in mind that there is a weekly fee for being on supervised probation.

If needed, I can prepare the documents necessary to request a Limited Driving Privilege for you and have them ready in court that day for the judge to sign.

Your situation may be significantly worse than I have outlined above for first offenders if you:

* had another DWI conviction within the past 7 years,
* blew .15 or higher when you were arrested,
* refused to provide a breath sample,
* had a passenger in the vehicle who was under 17,
* were driving on a revoked license when stopped, or
* were involved in an accident when charged.

These factors along with a few others can mean you risk spending time in the County Jail or even the North Carolina Department of Corrections.

You should carefully consider your choice of an attorney.

* Choose one who is willing and able to take your case to trial if necessary.
* Choose one who is familiar with North Carolina's new DWI laws that took effect in December of 2006 and 2007.
* Choose one who is very familiar with the judges, the District Attorney and his Assistant DAs.
* Choose one who will keep you informed of your options every step of the way.
* Choose one who knows the rules, the laws  - and knows how to use them to your advantage.

You may think you can’t afford to hire an attorney - but it’s possible you can’t afford not to hire one. The total amount you will have to pay including attorney’s fees, court costs and fines will depend on the circumstances of your particular case.

If you need extra time to pay the costs of this matter, please let me know. I may be able to get your case scheduled on a later date.

Call our office any day, Monday through Friday, between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm for a free consultation on this or any other North Carolina legal matter. My direct line is (919) 237-2111.