Case Summaries - North Carolina Court of Appeals (March 15, 2022)

This post summarizes published criminal decisions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on March 15, 2022. These summaries will be added to Smith's Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable database of case summaries from 2008 to present. There was probable cause to believe that a person whose license was revoked for refusing a chemical analysis after being charged with DWI was operating a vehicle and the procedures of G.S. 20-16.2 do not violate due process Edwards v. Jessup, ___ N.C. App. ___, 2022-NCCOA-157 (Mar. 15, 2022).  The superior court erred in reversing a DMV civil revocation of a driver’s license in a case where the appellee refused to consent to a chemical analysis after being charged with DWI.  An officer responded to a call that a driver had fallen asleep in the drive-through lane of a fast food restaurant and discovered the appellee asleep in the driver’s seat of her vehicle, which was not running and was parked in the parking lot.  After an investigation where the appellee admitted to falling asleep while in the drive-through lane and failed a field sobriety test, she was charged with DWI.  The appellee refused to consent to a blood sample for a chemical analysis, causing the DMV to revoke her license pursuant to G.S. 20-16.2 and sustain the revocation following an administrative hearing.  The superior court reversed the revocation on two grounds, finding that there was a lack of evidence that the appellee was operating a motor vehicle and also finding [...]