Alleging Aggravating Factors in a DWI Prosecution

A defendant charged in district court with the misdemeanor crime of driving while impaired cannot ascertain from the charging document whether he is subject to sentencing at Level A1 (the most serious level) or Level 5 (the least serious). That’s because the aggravating factors that lead to elevated sentencing aren’t considered elements of the offense and thus are not required to be alleged in the charging instrument. Yet because those factors can increase the maximum punishment a defendant may receive, they must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt and, with the exception of prior convictions, be determined by a jury in superior court. And, for most charges of impaired driving prosecuted in superior court, the State must provide notice of its intent to seek aggravating factors. A case decided by the court of appeals last June, however, identifies an exception to this requirement for certain aggravating factors in driving while impaired prosecutions initiated in superior court. The case is State v. Williams, __ N.C. App. ___, 786 S.E.2d 419 (2016), and it arose in connection with the defendant’s impaired driving of a golf cart from which a passenger fell and died. Facts. The defendant was indicted in February 2012 for driving while impaired. The case was joined for trial with charges of aggravated felony death by vehicle that arose from the same incident. Seven days before the February 16, 2015 trial, the State served Notice of Aggravating Factors on counsel for the defendant. The notice informed the defendant of the State’s [...]