The most important question I ask my clients when they tell me they have been charged with Driving While License Revoked is:

What caused your license to be revoked in the first place?

It’s a simple question but I don’t always get a simple answer. Some clients have old traffic tickets that they may have forgotten about and missed court for. Some clients have been convicted of Driving While Impaired and were caught driving without a driving privilege or outside the normal hours or operation. Others have been convicted of moving violations during a period of time when their license was already suspended and is now suspended for at least a year.

If my client has old traffic tickets in Wake County or the surrounding areas I may be able to help them clean up their driving record and dispose of these old matters. Where a defendant has multiple tickets in “VL” status, an assistant district attorney may consider dismissing some of the charges in exchange for a plea to just one of the charges, saving a defendant from having to pay off multiple old tickets. If a defendant has a PJC available, and the plea is to a moving violation, I may be able to request for a judge to grant a PJC to avoid license points, insurance points, and a further suspension. Ultimately, a driving record with multiple outstanding tickets could be cleaned up in a way that would let the client get his or her license back.

Having a license in court for a charge of Driving While License Revoked could be very helpful to resolving a client’s case. Feel free to contact Traffic Attorney Matthew J. Goldenif you have been charged with Driving While License Revoked.

If it has been less than 20 days since your missed court date, an attorney may be able to help you file a motion for a new court date that would have to be approved by an assistant district attorney and the judge who presided over your case on that missed date. I can often help clients get a new court date without any additional penalties or fines if they take quick action and call me right away.

If it has been more than 20 days since your missed court date, your case may be in what’s call “VL” status. Voluntary Leave status means that by missing your court date, you have prejudiced the State of North Carolina and they have consequently dismissed your case “With Leave”. This is technically not a dismissal at all. The DMV will be notified shortly after your case enters “VL” status and they will take action to suspend your license. They will mail you a letter that states a scheduled suspension date.  Your license will be suspended indefinitely until your case is handled. If you take action and hire an attorney to represent you on that ticket quickly before the suspension start date, your suspension can be canceled.

For tickets that are in “VL” status, I can file a motion to add your case onto the calendar quickly (within a 1 week time frame). Once it’s on the “VL” calendar, I can negotiate with the assistant district attorney to get you the best possible plea deal, often saving you valuable points on your insurance and license. If there is a very good reason for you missing court, I can also ask the judge in “VL” court to strike the $200 Failure to Appear fine that is added on to any ticket that entered “VL” status.

Give me a call today if you have missed a court date or have an old traffic ticket that needs to be taken care of. I may be able to save your license from being suspended or end an indefinite suspension by clearing up old tickets.

Matthew J. Golden practices traffic law in Raleigh, Smithfield and the surrounding areas. Give him a call at 888-743-7708 today for a free consultation!

There has been some drastic changes to case law recently that concern the initial stop of an impaired driver in North Carolina. Contrary to popular belief, a police officer cannot pull over your vehicle without a legal basis. That legal basis for DWI cases is either  1.) the driver charged with DWI has committed a motor vehicle traffic offense that is cited in Chapter 20 of the North Carolina General Statutes or 2.) the officer making the stop has a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the driver is impaired by either alcohol or drugs.

What is reasonable and articulable suspicion (RAS) you ask? Well, before the court case of State v. Otto, __ N.C. __ (2012) (Hudson, J.), the case law in North Carolina suggested that mere weaving within one’s lane without anything more was not sufficient to meet this standard. Now, there were cases before Otto where a court found RAS where there was weaving within one’s own lane plus the driver was traveling at 10 mph under the speed limit at 1:40 am in the morning. (See State v. Brown, 2010 WL 3860440 (N.C. Ct. App. Oct. 5, 2010). However, in Otto, the driver was observed weaving within her lane for only 3/4 of a mile, was doing the speed limit, it was only 10:30 pm at night, and there wasn’t any other signs of impaired driving. The N.C. Supreme Court reversed the N.C. Court of Appeals decision and found that a pattern of continual weaving, without anything more, was sufficient to establish reasonable suspicion of impaired driving.

There is no doubt in my mind that this case will be appealed to a higher court, as it contradicts so many other cases in North Carolina as well as other jurisdictions throughout the country. It essentially suggests that a driver who does not drive in a completely straight line is subject to being pulled over by the police at any time. While reasonable suspicion might be an easier burden to meet for the time being, there are plenty other hurdles the State will have to meet to prove a driver is guilty of DWI.

Wake County DWI attorney Matthew Golden will ensure that the State not only has reasonable suspicion to pull over your vehicle, but that they also meet the more difficult test of establishing probable cause for an arrest of DWI, as well as fully complying with the statutes and constitutions of North Carolina and the United States throughout the whole arrest and booking process.

Call Wake County DWI attorney Matthew Golden today for a free consultation over the phone or at his downtown Raleigh office.

There are several procedural safeguards that the State must follow with regards to administering the test, most of which will be closely scrutinized by a good attorney. A person charged with DWI has a 30 minute window in which he or she has a right to contact a witness to observe the administration of the test. After the 30 minute waiting period, the test may be administered without the defendant’s witness present given the witness was not prevent from entering the testing area.

Defendants also have a right to refuse an Intox EC/IR II breath test but will face an automatic 1 year license suspension because DWI is an implied consent law. A refusal may be unintentional or the result of a medical condition that could result in issues arising as to whether there was or was not a refusal. A DMV hearing may be requested to resolve issues involving refusal. If the breath test is refused, the State may obtain a search warrant and force a defendant to take a blood test, which will also measure blood alcohol concentration. In the case of a breath test refusal and a blood test, the refusal will still be grounds for a 1 year license suspension, even though the State collected the evidence they needed with the blood test.

The tricky part about the Intox EC/IR II tests is that while chemical analysts are trained by the State on how the machine operates and on how to administer the test properly, defense attorneys and the general public are left in the dark about the device actually works. While the inner workings of the device may remain a mystery, there is a public database of maintenance records on the machine that every good attorney should review in their client’s case.

Please contact Raleigh DWI defense attorney Matthew Golden to discuss your driving while impaired case for free.

The law, which is codified in N.C.G.S. 20-157(f), requires an approaching driver to do one of the following when an emergency vehicle or utility crew is parked within 12 feet of a roadway and is giving off a warning light:
1.) Move his/her vehicle into over one lane further from the parked vehicle if there are at least 2 lanes and it is safe to do so; OR
2.) Slow his/her vehicle to a safe speed for traffic conditions and be prepared to stop until completely past the parked vehicle if the roadway has only 1 lane or if the other lane has traffic prohibiting a lane change.

The punishment for violating this law can be quite severe. The violation carries a $250 fine plus court costs plus any resulting increase in insurance points. If significant damage is caused to the area of the emergency vehicle or if emergency personnel or utility crew members are injured, the person is charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor. Serious injury or death caused by violating this statute can be punished by a Class I felony, along with a 6 month license suspension.

Contact Raleigh traffic attorney Matthew J. Golden today for a free consultation if you have been charged with a violation of this law. Matthew may be able to eliminate the insurance point increase if found guilty of this offense.

Release on written promise to appear
This option allows the defendant to simply be released from jail without paying any bond or money based on his promise to appear in court on his court date.

Release the defendant upon his execution of an unsecured appearance bond. An unsecured bond is one that is backed only by the integrity of the defendant. No assets or collateral is required to be posted on this type of bond.

Place the defendant in custody of a designated person or organization agreeing to supervise him Similar to a release on a written promise to appear, since no money is required to secure release. If this condition is imposed, the defendant may elect to execute a secured appearance bond instead.

Require the execution of a secured apperance bond A secured appearance bond is one that is backed by a cash deposit in the full amount of the bond, by a mortgage, or by at least one solvent surety.

House arrest with electronic monitoring. This condition requires the defendant to stay at his residence unless the court authorizes departure for employment, counseling, a course of study, or vocational training. The defendant will be required to wear a device which permits the supervising agency to electronically monitor compliance with the condition. A secured appearance bond will also be imposed.

Pretrial release on a written promise to appear, an unsecured appearance bond, or on a custody release are options often given for misdemeanor offenses in which the defendant does not pose as a flight risk. Several factors are evaluated, including the seriousness of the offense, the defendant’s criminal history, the presence of other pending charges, length of residency, employment, and ties to the community, among other factors. The statute states that a judicial official must impose one of these 3 conditions unless he determines that such release will not reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required, will pose a danger of injury to any person, or is likely to result in the destruction of evidence, subornation of perjury, or intimidation of potential witnesses. If the judicial official finds one of these factors requires a secured bond or house arrest, he must list the reasons in writing for doing so.

Recent legislation that went into effect December 1st, 2011 affects defendants charged with driving while impaired who have had a prior conviction of driving while impaired within the last 7 years. The judicial official may order the defendant to abstain from alcohol consumption as verified by a continuous alcohol monitoring system for the period of pretrial release or until the condition is removed.

If you are charged with driving while impaired or another criminal offense and have questions about your case or about the pretrial release process, please contact Raleigh DWI attorney Matthew Golden today for a free consultation.

I have clients that don’t realize that reckless driving can be charged for merely speeding if the speeding is done in a dangerous manner. Both types of reckless driving are discussed below:

1.) Driving carelessly and heedlessly in willful or wanton disregard for the rights or safety of others.

2.) Driving without due caution and circumspection and at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger or be likely to endanger any person or property

A person who violates both types of reckless driving in one continuous manner is only guilty of one offense of reckless driving. However, keep in mind that “reckless driving” when combined with speeding is grounds to constitute a charge of aggressive driving, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

The statute is very broad and courts have refused to nail down specific definitions other than what is listed under the two types above.

You might find it interesting that the following factual scenarios were sufficient to find a person guilty of reckless driving:
-A driver driving well over the posted speed limit swerved into the opposing lane of traffic, and subsequently braked his vehicle sharply and slid for approximately twenty feet near an occupied residence.
-During a high speed chase on a rainy day, a driver came extremely close to hitting an oil tanker at speeds in excess of sixty miles per hour, and crossed double yellow lines.
-A driver drove while impaired and traveled 92 mph in a 45 mph zone.
-A driver drove 82 mph in a 55 mph zone, maneuvered from one lane to another to go around slower vehicles and crossed double yellow lines.

Reckless driving is a class 2 misdemeanor which carries 4 license points and 4 insurance points. Since each insurance point raises your insurance rate, on average, about 25%, a conviction of reckless driving will double the cost of insurance.

Contact criminal and traffic defense attorney Matthew Golden today for a free consultation, either in person or over the phone, to discuss your options if you are charged with reckless or aggressive driving.

An attorney can petition for a pre-trial driving privilege after 10 days of the normal 30 day revocation period that starts to run the day the defendant was charged with DWI. The privilege costs $100, which should be made payable to the clerk of court.

The following conditions must apply to the defendant in order to be eligible for this privilege:

(1) at the time of the offense, the driver held either a valid driver’s license or a license that has been expired for less than one year.
(2) the driver does not have an unresolved pending charge involving impaired driving except the charge for which your license is revoked or additional convictions of an offense involving impaired driving since being charged with this violation;
(3) the license has been revoked for at least 10 days if the revocation is for 30 days or 30 days if the revocation is for 45 days; and
(4) the driver has obtained the necessary substance abuse assessment by a court approved registered facility.

There are different criteria for a pre-trial limited driving privilege if the driver’s license was revoked indefinitely.

If the defendant meets the 4 above criteria, the attorney needs to prepare and provide for the court:

-   A certified driving record

-   A Petition for Limited driving Privilege

The standard hours for a driving privilege are Monday through Friday from 6:00 A.M. through 8:00 P.M. If the defendant’s work schedule falls outside of these hours, it is possible for an attorney to request a privilege outside of these hours if appropriate documentation is provided by the employer.

After the hearing in front of a District Court Judge, the pretrial privilege may be granted, allowing the defendant to drive during the remainder of the revocation period. After the revocation period has ended (usually after 30 days), the driver may request his full license back after paying a $100 restoration fee.

Raleigh DWI attorney Matthew Golden represents individuals charged with driving while impaired in Wake County, NC. Contact Matthew today to discuss your case for free and to determine whether you are eligible for a pre-trial limited driving privilege.

Jamie Markham over at UNCSOG’s Criminal Law Blog has pointed out in his recent article that the Justice Reinvestment Act S.L. 2011-192, which will take effect for persons entering a plea or found guilty on or after January 1^st, 2012, changes 90-96 in three important ways. First, it excludes all defendants who have been convicted of any felony under state or federal law, rather than just excluding those defendants who had prior drug convictions. Second, it broadens eligibility for those defendants charges with any misdemeanor or felony simple possession crime under G.S. 90-95(a)(3), regardless of the schedule or amount. So the new 90-96 statute will remove the language found in 90-96(a) that limits deferral to felony possession of cocaine charges of less than 1 gram and will mirror the language in subsection 90-96(a)(1), which allows deferral of any amount.

However, the most important change to the new 90-96 is the removal of the language the court “may” use it for an eligible defendant under 90-96(a) and the addition of the language the court “shall” grant the deferral to an eligible defendant.  The “may” language of 90-96(a)(1) will still be there, so deferral will still be in the discretion of the judge under (a)(1). Once again, (a)(1) is broader in that it allows defendants with prior non-drug felony convictions to be eligible and it also limits the look back period for prior convictions to a maximum of 7 years, so convictions before that cannot be considered.

If you have been charged with a drug possession charge and think you might be eligible for a deferral under 90-96, please contact me for a free consultation. I will review your record to determine eligibility and discuss with you the consequences of entering a plea under this statute. Contact Raleigh criminal defense attorney Matthew Golden today.

After receiving notice from the clerk, the DMV must mail or personally deliver to the person an order revoking his or her driver’s license, which will become effective on the 60th day after the order is mailed or delivered. (G.S. 20-24.1(b)). Essentially, a person will have a minimum of 80 days after a missed court date to avoid a license suspension from the DMV but the statute provision G.S. 7A-304(a)(6) imposes court costs of $50 upon a defendant who fails to pay a fine, penalty, or costs within 20 days of the date specified in the court’s judgment.

If the person resolves the matter before the effective date of the revocation (before the 60 day DMV timeframe), the revocation never becomes effective and any entries on the person’s driving record related to the revocation are deleted. To resolve the matter, the person must either dispose of the charge in the trial division by hiring an attorney to obtain a new court date and appear for the outstanding citation or do it themselves. The person charged or an attorney may also demonstrate that he/she was not the person charged with the offense, may simply pay the penalty, fine, or costs , or argue or have an attorney argue for them that he or she is making a good faith effort to pay or that the penalty, fine or costs should be remitted. If the revocation order becomes effective before the charge is resolved, there is a $50 license restoration fee in addition to a possible $200 Failure to Appear fine and other applicable court costs.

Contact traffic defense attorney Matthew Golden today for a free consultation to discuss your options after missing a court date or failing to pay a citation.