Legal Question in DUI Law in North Carolina
Daughter's arrest & treatment after DWI charge
My 26 year old daughter was arrested and charged with a DWI, after refusing a breathalizer, and she was driving with a revoked license from an earlier DWI about 14 months ago. She was not told why she was arrested, and was handcuffed and taken to jail. She was refused a phone call until nearly 14 hours later. While in jail she made a comment that was wrongly assumed to be suicidal. So she was stripped of all her clothes with a male officer present. He made a comment which caused the others present to laugh. She had received bruises, a head bump, and a hand puncture from the rough treatment of the police. Her blood pressure was extremely high, a nurse later told her. Her car had been seized & impounded, although it is titled & registered to me. I had to drive 400 miles & lose a day of work to retrieve it. The odometer had 3195 more miles than the previous two months, so I believe someone used that car while it was impounded for 10 days. Were are rights broken by the police and the impound company? My daughter is petrified from this jail experience. I feel I should have been notified by someone of all that was going on. Please advise me of what to do. Her court date is Jan. 8, 2003.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Daughter's arrest & treatment after DWI charge
Civil liberty violations may lie for the treatment that your daughter received. However, this will not likely affect the outcome of her pending criminal charge(s). If she had received a prior DWI and judicial restraint applied (i.e., probation), then remedial action MUST be demonstrated by your daughter to mitigate the potential jail time that she now faces. If you have not already contacted an attorney, your daughter should do so immediately.
G. Joseph Holthaus III
(410) 799-9002
Re: Daughter's arrest & treatment after DWI charge
This is the type of case where you need to talk to a lawyer immediately. A complaint should be filed with the police agency about the treatment of your daughter. Get a copy of the police report and the DWI influence sheet to give to the lawyer. Try to find a lawyer that practices in the County where your daughter was arrested. I practice in Baltimore, Harford, and Cecil. Do this today, as January 8 trial date is not much time to prepare.
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