Huntersville, North Carolina DWI Case Dismissed
On May 21, 2017 a Browning & Long client was charged with DWI in Huntersville, North Carolina and on October 11, 2018 his DWI was dismissed.
The Arrest
On May 21, 2017 a Huntersville Police officer responded to a call for service indicating that a car was stopped at a major intersection and did not move after the light switched from red to green several times. When the officer arrived at the intersection she approached our client’s car and found him to be slumped over and passed out behind the wheel. The officer had to knock on the driver’s side window several times to wake up our client and get him out of the car. Once our client was out of the car the officer noted that our client had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, slurred speech, blood shot eyes and was unsteady on his feet and therefore assumed that he was impaired by alcohol. Accordingly, the police officer asked our client to perform the Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFSTs) and found 6 of 6 clues of the HGN (Horizontal Gaze and Nystagmus), 7 of 8 clues on the walk and turn and 1 of 4 clues on the one leg stand. Consequently, our client was arrested for DWI and transported to the Huntersville Police Department to obtain a sample of his breath. Our client blew a .00 (.00 means that there was no alcohol present). After blowing a .00 the officer transported our client to the hospital and drew blood to determine if he had any drugs in this system. After obtaining a blood sample from our client the officer transported him to the Mecklenburg County Jail.
Discovery and Dismissal
Several Months later the Blood result came back and indicated that our client had marijuana and alprazolam (Xanax) in his system. With this result, the officer and the District Attorney’s Office decided to proceed with the DWI charge and set a trial date. Once Mr. Long was hired he thoroughly reviewed the case, had lengthy discussions with the client and meticulously reviewed the blood results. During this due diligence, Mr. Long discovered that his client had a medical condition that could explain why someone would pass out while driving and appear impaired. Mr. Long obtained voluminous medical records that demonstrated our client’s medical condition and symptoms. Additionally, after methodically reviewing the blood results, Mr. Long discovered that the Marijuana that was present in the blood was the inactive metabolite. An inactive metabolite will remain in someone’s blood for several weeks after consumption and cannot be used to show that someone was impaired. Additionally, Mr. Long discovered that the level of Xanax found was a therapeutic level, a typical daily dosage the to treat symptoms. Mr. Long discussed the medical condition and blood results with the District Attorney’s office and was able to get the case dismissed. Accordingly, our client avoided the harsh consequences associated with a DWI conviction.