This is Part 18 of our weekly North Carolina Criminal Defense video blog: “Should You Take a Breathalyzer Test?“
Transcript:
That’s a decision really that only the client can make. The reason for that is if you don’t blow and you refuse the test, your license will be suspended for a year and there’s a good chance the officer will attempt to get a search warrant and draw your blood. That’s only a decision that you can make.
This is Part 17 of our weekly North Carolina Criminal Defense video blog: “Should You Take a Roadside Sobriety Test?“
Transcript:
The field sobriety test, especially if the officer does not have a dash cam video or some kind of video to record the test, when those cases go to court you’re relying specifically on that officer’s recollection and his notes as to how you did.
Keep in mind that those officers are trying to build a case against you. Often their recollection on how you did the tests may differ from how you think you did the tests. The tests are very difficult. They’re difficult to do if you’re even sober.
Again, the least little slip-up on one of the tests, you can be sure that the District Attorney’s Office and that prosecutor when it goes to court are going to say that’s evidence of impairment. That’s why I tell I tell clients, “Don’t do the tests. Don’t add evidence; don’t give that evidence to the police officer.”
This is Part 16 of our weekly North Carolina Criminal Defense video blog: “How to Politely Decline Answering the Police’s Questions“
Transcript:
If the officer asks you to get out of the car, clearly, you get out of the car. You follow his instructions. If he asks you to come to the back of the car, you follow his instructions. Simply being polite and saying, “Officer, I don’t want to answer that,” is perfectly fine.
Many of these officers want to engage you in conversation, asking you, “Where have you been? Where are you coming from? How much have you had to drink?” It’s very easy to be polite, be sure, and say, “Officer, I’m sorry. I’m not comfortable. I’m not going to answer any questions.”
Domestic violence charges are not these exclusively private affairs that you can glide by. For instance, even if there wasn’t a serious injury, even if your partner wants to drop the case, and even if your friend, a real estate lawyer, seems like a good option for representing you, then you’d be in for a surprise. Domestic violence cases can be complex and the Raleigh and Wake County courts can be particularly unforgiving to individuals charged with domestic violence.
From being separated from your family for a long period of time to getting a criminal record and the long-term consequences associated with it, it’s absolutely critical to speak with the best domestic violence defense attorney in Raleigh, Dewey P. Brinkley. If you were charged with domestic violence, don’t hesitate and call our criminal defense law firm today at (919) 832-0307. Free consultations are available.
In the meantime, as a defendant charged with domestic violence in Raleigh, here are a few things that you can do.
Being arrested, no matter the charges or the circumstances surrounding the arrest, is a stressful and emotional experience. When arrested for domestic abuse, however, the high levels of stress and emotion cause a fairly dangerous situation for police officers. In fact, many police officers in Raleigh and Wake County have reported that domestic violence calls often pose the most threat to the responding officers.
Therefore, whether or not the police are making a mistake in arresting you, it is absolutely critical that you comply, remain polite, and use your right to remain silent. In order to invoke this right, calmly and politely say, “I want to invoke my right to remain silent,” instead of not responding to the police questioning. Furthermore, you don’t want to incriminate yourself by saying something that the prosecutor can use against you.
If arrested and charged with domestic violence, don’t consider it equivalent to a speeding ticket or something insignificant. Remember, criminal charges will adversely affect your freedom, your job, your ability to make a living and gain employment in the future, and your family, as well as many other matters.
By acquiring an experienced criminal defense attorney, your attorney will work on your behalf to gather evidence and investigate the circumstances of the charge.
If you are convicted of domestic violence and are given an alternative sentence to jail time, make sure that you follow these regulations to a “T.” If you fail to fulfill these requirements, then original penalties or other consequences may be imposed.
Often in a domestic violence case, our clients will call us saying, “The detective in my case called me in so that I can tell my side of the story.” The detective will generally sound very nice, like he/she just wants to straighten out the facts and move on.
A general rule, however, is that if you are called into the precinct, you should consult your attorney and don’t go alone. The detective may not want to straighten things out, but, instead, he/she may be looking to arrest you. For instance, the officer may ask for your side of the story, and if you respond, “My wife was trying to attack me, and so I pushed her away,” then you may have just admitted to pushing your wife. Now, the DA might just have the necessary evidence to move forward with your case.
Many, if not most, of the claimants in a domestic violence case (i.e., the “victim”) regret having their spouse arrested. As a result, they may try to call the precinct or the defendant’s attorney trying to get the charges withdrawn.
Unlike civil cases, where the plaintiff can withdraw his/her motion, criminal charges in North Carolina act a bit differently. As a criminal case, the victim is considered a “witness” and does not, technically, file or decide whether the charges will be dropped. It is up to the State regarding how a case will proceed in criminal courts.
Every domestic violence case is different, involving a wide range of factors, causes, and effects. As a result, our criminal defense approach to your domestic violence case will highly depend on these factors.
At the Law Office of Dewey P. Brinkley, we will thorough investigate these factors, provide you with essential and realistic counsel regarding your case, and we will use leading domestic abuse defense tactics to seek a favorable result in North Carolina courts.
This is Part 15 of our weekly North Carolina Criminal Defense video blog: “How a Breathalyzer Relates to a DWI Charge“
Transcript:
We tend to break DWI cases down into three phases. We look at the reason that the person was originally stopped. Were they lawfully stopped? Is that stop accompanied by reasonable suspicion? Any time you’re caught for speeding or you’re weaving on the road, the officer has to have reasonable suspicion that criminal activity is occurring. The first analysis is, “Did he have a lawful reason to stop you?”
The second area we look at is, “Did the officer gather enough evidence there, roadside?” He will note if you did the tests, any odor he smelled, how you got out of the car, if you had slurred speech, and if your eyes were red and glassy. What we look at is, “Did he gather enough to actually arrest you?” That’s what we call probable cause to arrest.
Assuming that there is a lawful reason to stop the car, and there’s a lawful reason to actually place you under arrest, then we look at the breath test. Was there an observation period? Was preventative maintenance done on the instrument? Was this officer a licensed chemical analyst? There are so many little details that go into the proper foundation for the entry of that breath test.
This is Part 14 of our weekly North Carolina Criminal Defense video blog: “Breath Testing and Henry’s Law“
Transcript:
Henry’s law assumes that the alcohol that is in your blood if it was in a closed container that over time the amount of alcohol in your blood would go into the air above your blood or into the lungs. That really only applies when it is a closed area.
The way gas chromatography works is that they take a sample of your blood, put it into a test tube, that test tube is capped, and it’s put into a machine and under a certain temperature the science says that the alcohol that’s in that blood sample will leach into the head space of that vial and that eventually they will reach equilibrium.
The human body isn’t like that. Our lungs aren’t a closed system. There is nothing that is like that test tube where it’s closed off. To some extent, it doesn’t work that way in terms of the human body.
This is Part 13 of our weekly North Carolina Criminal Defense video blog: “How Common are Breathalyzer False Positives?“
Transcript:
I think the manufacturers of the instruments that you blow into would say that they are truly accurate. They certainly have an interest because the instruments themselves are expensive. They have an interest in selling them as completely accurate.
Breath testing is, to some extent, based on a number of chemical, scientific theories that clearly don’t always apply to the human body. The breath testing instrument relies on Henry’s Law. Henry’s Law only applies when the system is closed, and equating Henry’s Law to the human body doesn’t really apply. There are things about breath testing equipment that can lead to inaccuracies.
This is Part 12 of our weekly North Carolina Criminal Defense video blog: “Wake County DWI Attorney – Can You Choose Which Test to Take for DWI?“
Transcript:
You don’t have a choice. The officer has the opportunity under our law to make the decision about whether it will be a breath test or a blood test. Typically, it’s a breath test if they believe the impairing substance is alcohol.
If it’s a drug impairment case, which we’re seeing more and more, whether it is prescription drugs, or marijuana, or any other controlled substance, then that officer’s going to seek a blood test.
This is Part 11 of our weekly North Carolina Criminal Defense video blog: “Raleigh Defense Attorney – Juvenile vs. Adult Criminal System“
Transcript:
The juvenile court system is really there to rehabilitate, whereas the adult criminal system is there to really punish. When you’re in juvenile delinquency court, the court system is trying to put programs in place for that juvenile to hopefully rehabilitate them so that once they turn 16, they don’t get into the adult system.
This is Part 10 of our weekly North Carolina Criminal Defense video blog: “Raleigh Criminal Defense Lawyer – What is NC’s Definition of a Juvenile?“
Transcript:
A juvenile in North Carolina is defined as anyone who has committed a crime between the ages of six and up until before their sixteenth birthday. The minute you turn 16 in North Carolina, you become an adult for criminal purposes.