Effective for offenses committed on or after December 1, 2011 the General Assembly of the State of North Carolina has enacted a new, additional court cost specific to impaired driving offenses, which took effect on December 1, 2011.

Unlike most changes to court costs which were enacted during the past years and which typically took effect for costs assessed or collected on or after the effective date of the enacting legislation, this cost applies only to convictions for offenses committed on or after December 1, 2011. The fee may not be assessed for offenses committed prior to that date.

The new fee of $100 is to be assessed in addition to all other costs applicable to the case; it does not replace any other costs. E.g., it is assessed in addition to the Chapter 20 fee of G.S. 7A-304(a)(4b), not in lieu of it. The cost is to be assessed only upon conviction, so the fee should not be assessed unless the defendant is convicted of one of the following offenses:  Impaired driving, G.S. 20-138.1; Impaired driving in commercial vehicle, G.S. 20-138.2; Operating a commercial vehicle after consuming alcohol (second or subsequent convictions, only), G.S. 20-138.2A; and Operating a school bus, activity bus, or child care vehicle after consuming alcohol (second or subsequent convictions, only), G.S. 20-138.2B.

Because it is a court cost under G.S. 7A-304, waiver of this fee requires that the court make a finding of just cause for the waiver, pursuant to G.S 7A-304(a).

Collins Law Firm regularly represents people charged with impaired driving offenses with court appearances in New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick County.  If you were charged, you should contact a lawyer or attorney at Collins Law Firm at 910-793-9000 for a consultation.

By Jana Collins, Office Manager

The Fourth of July celebration is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, hot dogs, picnics, and other parties.  Also, it is a day where many Americans will be consuming alcohol.

As North Carolinians across the state flock to the Southeastern North Carolina coast to celebrate the 4^th of July Weekend, the state has begun “Booze It & Lose It: Operation Firecracker” to deter drunk drivers across the entire state and remove impaired drivers from the roads.  Operation Firecracker began Monday, June 27, and continues through Monday, July 4.

Operation Firecracker is conducted by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and it coordinates the Highway Patrol, sheriff’s offices and police departments.  During this period there will be additional checkpoints and stepped up patrols that will be conducted across the state.

The Fourth of July holiday is considered one of the deadliest for highway travel.  In 2010, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, there were 205 alcohol-related automobile accidents during the Independence holiday, which resulted in six deaths.  Additionally, alcohol-related crashes also accounted for 105 injuries in the state during the same week last year.  During the 2010 “Booze It & Lose it: Operation Firecracker” campaign officers conducted more than 4,600 patrols and checkpoints, which resulted in more than 1,200 North Carolina motorists being charged with driving while impaired.

This means there will be an increased police presence at the beaches in Pender, New Hanover, and Brunswick Counties.  The beaches that will be affected will be Surf City, Topsail Beach, Wrightsville Beach, Kure Beach, Carolina Beach, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, and Sunset Beach.

Collins Law Firm always urges people not to drive while impaired.  If you consume alcohol, we encourage you to have a designated driver or to take a taxi home.  However, if you are charged with a DWI/DUI, underage drinking, or any other crime in or around Wilmington, NC in New Hanover County, Brunswick County (Bolivia, NC), or Pender County (Burgaw, NC) and need a lawyer or attorney to represent you, call Collins Law Firm at: 910-793-9000 for a confidential consultation.

It is prom season here in Southeastern North Carolina. Teenagers at high schools in New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender Counties will soon be dancing the night away at their junior and senior proms in celebration of yet another school year coming to a close.  However, prom has become a time that some underage high school students are likely to excessively drink.  This has led to an increase in underage drinking charges, teenagers using fraudulent driver’s licenses, and DUI/DWI’s.  Additionally, underage individuals will attempt to have a family member or friend who is older than 21 purchase alcohol for them.  North Carolina is taking steps to make it more difficult for underage individuals to get their hands on alcohol, and has introduced a vertical driver’s license for anyone under the age of 21.  Moreover, North Carolina driver’s licenses have a hologram on them, which is a security feature that makes it more difficult to copy.  In a lot of cases underage drinkers try to get around that by obtaining fake IDs from out of state.

Before you consider drinking for your prom or buying alcohol for a friend it is important to know the laws of the State of North Carolina.  Convictions of the laws concerning the sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages outlined in N.C.G.S. Chapter 18B named “Regulation of Alcoholic Beverages,” will lead to a punishment of a class one (maximum of 120 days in jail) or class two misdemeanor (maximum of 60 days in jail).  Furthermore, it is possible that a conviction will lead to your driver’s license being revoked for one year.

N.C.G.S Chapter 18B states that it is unlawful for a person under the age of 21  to buy, attempt to buy, or to possess fortified wine, spirituous liquor, or mixed beverages. It is unlawful for a person under 21 to consume any alcoholic beverage.  If you are underage and you purchase alcohol for another person you shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.  If you are over 21 and purchase alcohol for someone that is younger than 21 you can be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.  Additionally it is unlawful to use a fraudulent or fake drivers license or other identification document to purchase alcoholic beverages.  Further, any person who permits the use of their driver’s license will be held accountable.

However, just because you have been charged with underage drinking or any violation of the NC alcohol laws, or any law, does not necessarily mean you will be convicted.  Collins Law Firm has represented many people charged with violating the laws concerning the sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol.  In most cases, especially for first time offenders, we have been able to prevent convictions.  Presently, in most cases for first time offenders, even if there is no solid defense, we are able to negotiate an agreement with the district attorney’s office to have the charges dismissed after the defendant completes a certain number of hours of volunteer service, or completing a class about alcohol and the laws regarding alcohol, or other requirements, or a combination thereof. When there is a solid defense, we normally are able to have the charges dismissed without our clients having to perform any volunteer service or complete classes.

If you have been charged with underage drinking, a DWI / DUI, or any other crime in or around Wilmington, NC in New Hanover County, Brunswick County (Bolivia, NC), or Pender County (Burgaw, NC) and need a lawyer or attorney to represent you call Collins Law Firm at: 910-793-9000 for a confidential consultation.

Jon David, the District Attorney in Brunswick, Bladen, and Columbus Counties (with county seats Bolivia, NC, Elizabethtown, NC, and Whiteville, NC respectively) filed a petition with the state appeals court yesterday, Thursday, May 19, 2011 appealing the Chief District Court Judge’s administrative order which halted the traffic court program in the district.  The District Attorney, Jon David, also filed a request for a temporary stay.  Dick Ellis, a spokesman for the North Carolina Court of Appeals, said a ruling could be issued as early as this week.  “That would make his order dead in the water right now until they can rule whether they want to overrule him permanently,” Ellis said. Ellis said that the court’s final decision may be issued in the next two weeks.  The controversy between the District Attorney and the Chief District Court Judge has been brewing for over a month now.

The fifth prosecutorial district in North Carolina is comprised of New Hanover and Pender Counties, of which the county seats are Wilmington, NC, and Burgaw, NC, respectively.  The thirteenth prosecutorial district and the fifth prosecutorial district are adjacent geographically, and separated by the Cape Fear River, located in the southeast corner of North Carolina on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.  These two prosecutorial districts are unique in the fact that the elected district attorneys in these districts are brothers, and identical twins.  The brothers are Ben David and Jon David – both lawyers who have served as prosecutors at times independently, and at times in the same office, for many years.  We are not aware of any other pair of prosecutorial districts anywhere that are served by identical twins.

On Friday, April 15, 2011, Chief District Court Judge Jolly issued an administrative order, stating that newly elected District Attorney Jon David’s proposed traffic court program would be a “gross impropriety” because the owner of the company which would provide some of the driving courses under the program, contributed to David’s campaign.  The part of Mr. David’s proposed program to which the Judge referred is called StreetSafe, and is a program for people aged 16 to 21 who are charged with committing traffic offenses, and is supposed to educate young people about the dangers of risky driving.  The owner of the program, Doug Darrell, contributed money to Mr. David’s campaign, according to state records.
In Chief District Court Judge Jerry Jolly’s order, he wrote that because people were to be referred to the program, and would be required to pay money to the program operated by one of his campaign contributors, that the program would constitute a conflict of interest that “brings the criminal justice system into disrepute.”  Judge Jolly’s order puts a stop to all traffic court days, which were to be held in effect in Brunswick, Columbus and Bladen Counties, which comprise the 13th prosecutorial district.  The order shutting down traffic court stated that “the District Court of the Thirteenth Judicial District will not be a party to the scheme of the District Attorney Jon David and will not tolerate District Attorney Jon David financially profiting one of his financial contributors.”  Mr. David said that no hearing was held on the issue and he was not aware of the judge’s concerns until he read the order.
On Monday, April 18, 2011, Mr. David responded in a letter in which Mr. David wrote that the order was “slanderous” and was based on a “petty personality conflict.”  He further stated that the order contained factual errors, and he questioned why there was no hearing on the issue.
On Thursday, April 21, 2011, the Star News, the main news paper in the Wilmington, NC area, reported that a number of high-ranking law enforcement officials in Brunswick County indicated support of Mr. David’s program, and that they disagreed with the Judge’s order as misguided and that it would ultimately undermine public safety.  The law enforcement officials issuing the statement included Brunswick County Sheriff John and Police chiefs from Holden Beach, Oak Island, Shallotte, Leland, Northwest, and Bald Head Island.  Their statement said that law enforcement officials opposed Jolly’s ruling to close the traffic program because it would hamper their ability to patrol their jurisdictions because law enforcement officers would have to spend more time in court since the traffic court is eliminated.  Under the traffic court program, officers are not required to be in court, and the traffic charges are resolved without trials – usually by dismissals or pleas to reduced charges.  And in traffic court, lawyers could appear in traffic court for defendants to resolve their charges for them.
On Monday, April 25, 2011, the Star News reported that two groups connected with the Brunswick County Republican Party indicated support for District Attorney Jon David regarding the dispute with Judge Jerry Jolly over the traffic court program.  The story reported that Brunswick County GOP Chairman George Bell said “Mr. David, who had the support of 68 percent of the voters in Brunswick County in last year’s election, would not violate the trust of the citizens of Brunswick, Bladen or Columbus County,”.   “It appears that partisan politics is at play here and we agree with Mr. David that the charges are slanderous.”  The story also reported that the Brunswick County Republican Women’s Club President Kathryn Lawler wrote an email to Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Ola Lewis, asking her to intercede in the matter.
On Tuesday, April 26, 2011, the Star News published a story stating that District Attorney David is currently abiding by the judge’s order, but that the traffic court dispute “continues to simmer without resolution … It’s been just more than a week since David sent the judge a letter asking him to rescind his order that blocked David’s administrative traffic court and threatening to take legal recourse if Jolly did not change his mind,” the story reported, and it indicated that the District Attorney had not yet filed an appeal, and that while Mr. David disagrees with the order, he had instructed law enforcement officials to comply with it.  Mr. David said that “It’s an order that’s in effect right now, and until it’s rescinded or overturned by a superior jurisdiction, I am instructing officers to follow that.”
If you have been issued a traffic citation, or charged with any traffic violation or crime in Southeastern North Carolina, in Wilmington, NC or the surrounding areas including Bolivia, NC, Brunswick County, New Hanover County, Burgaw, NC, or Pender County, you should at least consult with a lawyer or attorney about your charges.  We may be able to represent you, go to court for you, and prevent you having to appear in court at all. You can call the professionals at Collins Law Firm for a confidential consultation at: 910-793-9000.