If you were arrested and charged with a DUI in Winston-Salem, Northcarolina or a neighboring City, please call the 1-800 number below to get in contact with an experienced DUI attorney to fight your case.

1-800-420-9444

DWI Criminal Defense Lawyer - Winston-Salem, North Carolina

If you are arrested for Driving While Intoxicated in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, there may be serious repercussions and consequences, including jail time, loss of driving privileges, and monetary fines. This is why it is vital you talk with a Winston-Salem DWI criminal defense attorney.Finding an accomplished and knowledgeable DWI attorney in Winston-Salem, North Carolina can help you understand your case, including any defenses you might take.

DWI Charges in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

According to the law in North Carolina, when you have been cited for violating the DWI statute, two simultaneous (yet separate) legal actions are taken against you. For one, an administrative action is brought against your Missouri driver's license (handled by the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles.) Also, a criminal action is taken in response to the DWI.

While both actions can result in the loss of driving privileges, it is imperative to remember that there may be additional penalties to consider and that each of these actions must be handled separately.

Administrative Hearing

Pursuant to North Carolina law, if you are charged with a DWI, you have 10 days (ten days) to complete and turn in paperwork for an administrative hearing from the Department of Motor Vehicles in North Carolina. If you do not meet this deadline, your right to the hearing is lost, and your driver's license is automatically suspended.

If you want to preserve your right to an administrative hearing, it is vital that you submit your request to the North Carolina DMV within 10 days.

First Time Offenders - DWI Penalties

This is what you can face with a first time DWI conviction in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

DWI Fines - The minimum fine for a first time DWI is $100.00 and can go up to $2,000.00.
Jail Time - A first time DWI offender can face incarceration for 24 hours, up to a maximum of 24 months incarceration.
Driving Privileges - A DWI conviction will result in the mandatory revocation of driving privileges for 1 year.
DWI Chemical Test Refusal - Refusing to submit to a test when requested by law enforcement officials will result in the immediate suspension of North Carolina driving privileges for at least 30 days, and an additional minimum 12 (twelve) month revocation by the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. After six months, the court may allow for limited driving privileges to be restored.

The Booze It & Lose It campaign in Winston-Salem, North Carolina targets drunk drivers by using innovative DWI education (and enforcement.) Throughout North Carolina, sobriety checkpoints are used as part of the state's highly effective anti-DWI campaign. Using 6 mobile breath-alcohol testing units (called BATMobiles), law enforcement officials increases efficiency of DWI processing on the scene. Each vehicle comes with workstations for Intoxilyzer 5000 breath test instruments, cellular telephones, traffic cones, traffic vests, computers, search batons, screening test devices and more.

Subsequent DWI Offenses

Penalties are increasingly severe for any additional DWI violations. Due to the complexity of DWI laws in North Carolina, you may not be aware of your rights and the potential defenses available to your case. Please contact a DWI attorney for a free case evaluation.

North Carolina and DWI

From the summer of 2006 to the early summer in 2007, there were almost forty three thousand DWI convictions in North Carolina (including Winston-Salem.) Sobriety checkpoints are continually set up in all North Carolina counties as part of the state's highly effective anti-drunk driving campaign. State law requires that DWI offenders obtain a substance abuse assessment and complete the recommended intervention, which is either education or treatment. Thousands of North Carolinians have completed the requirements over the years.