North Carolina Driving Impaired Lawyers Attorneys.

North Carolina Driving Impaired Lawyers Attorneys.

by

Atchuthan Sriskandarajah

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. ANTHONY WAYNE ROSE

SUPREME COURT OF NORTH CAROLINA

December 4, 1984, Filed

Factual Background:

Defendant was issued a traffic citation for operating a motor vehicle while subject to an impairing substance in violation of N.C. Gen. Stat. 20-138.1(a)(2). The trial court declared 20-138.1(a)(2) to be unconstitutional. The Wake County Superior Court (North Carolina)

reversed

the trial court’s order, and defendant appealed.

Issue:

Whether 20-138.1(a)(2), which provided that a person was guilty of impaired driving when his blood alcohol concentration was 0.110 or more, contravened constitutional due process because it was too vague and because it bore no reasonable relationship to any legitimate legislative purpose?

Observation and Holding:

The court affirmed the appellate court’s decision that 20-138.1(a)(2) was constitutional, holding that: 1) 20-138.1(a)(2) was not unconstitutionally vague because clearly set out what conduct was proscribed; 2) it was not a violation of constitutional

protections

to require that one who went perilously close to an area of proscribed conduct took the risk that he could cross the line; 3) all persons were presumed to know the law and a defendant who drank and then drove took the risk that his blood-alcohol content exceeded the legal maximum; and 4) there was no constitutional right to drink and drive; therefore, the legislature could constitutionally decree that a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.10 or more was enough to constitute an offense.

Disclaimer:

These summaries are provided by the SRIS Law Group. They represent the firm s unofficial views of the Justices opinions. The original opinions should be consulted for their authoritative content.

Atchuthan Sriskandarajah is a Virginia lawyer and owner of the SRIS Law Group. The SRIS Law Group has offices in Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York,

North Carolina

& California. The firm handles criminal/traffic defense, family law, immigration & bankruptcy cases.

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