Can a Greensboro DWI attorney tell you about car vehicle seizure? Yes they can!
The law in North Carolina is quite frightening. It requires a police officer to take a person’s vehicle if a driver is
- Charged with DWI, Driving After Consuming Under 21, Habitual DWI, DWI in a Commercial Vehicle, or any impaired driving based a felony charge, and
- Their driver’s license is revoked for an impaired revocation, as defined in N.C.G.S. 20-28.2(a)
OR
- They are driving with no license (NOL), or a revoked or suspended license, AND they do not have valid insurance.
The bad news is, that the seizure will occur whether or not the driver is the owner of the vehicle. And it actually doesn’t matter if the person is actually charged or is guilty of the crime of driving while license revoked or not is irrelevant to the seizure requirement, only that the driver was charged with an impaired driving offense and that their license was in the status of an impaired revocation. To protect yourself and to have your questions answered, contact a Greensboro DWI attorney, we are happy to help.
There are exceptions to the status of driving without a valid license if they have a fall under the exceptions, or defenses, to N.C.G.S. 20-35, whereas, at the time of the defense, they had an expired license, that it was renewed within 30 days of expiring, and they could not have been charged had they actually renewed the license prior to the offense. Furthermore, the act of simply not carrying a license does not allow law enforcement to seize a vehicle.
It is important to contact a Greensboro DUI lawyer quickly, as after the car is taken, the vehicle will be towed and stored, accruing daily storage fees in addition to the towing fee. Statutory authority requires the payment of these costs, they cannot be waived, and may be ordered as restitution.
The three main towing and storage companies contracted with North Carolina are:
- Martin Edwards and Associates
- Eastway Wrecker, and
- Tarheel Specialties
Cars are stored until released or forfeited. Forfeiture may occur before the pending court charges are resolved, and may happen automatically when the towing and storage costs exceeds 85% of the vehicles value (fair market value).
If the vehicle’s worth is less than 00, then it may be sold 90 days after being seized.
The towing and storage fees are paid from these funds, with the remaining balance forfeited to the local school system. This system is draconian, and if your property has been seized, contact a Greensboro DWI lawyer or Greensboro DUI attorney immediately. A Greensboro traffic attorney can help you with your DWI charge. Call us today, the Greensboro DWI lawyer who returns phone calls, at 336-379-0539.