North Carolina DWI Ticket Fixing Scheme Uncovered

Much higher dismissal rate led to investigation.

A spike in the number of DWI case dismissals in one North Carolina county led to a review by the State Bureau of Investigation. Records show that 46% of the arrests for drunk driving in Johnston County were dismissed. The state average for DWI dismissals is 21%.

As a result of the investigation, six people, including a former county prosecutor and a former deputy court clerk, were indicted on charges of altering court records and using illegal dismissal forms to get a total of 37 cases dropped.

A District Attorney said a tracking system installed in October 2007 found cases scheduled for trial that had been dismissed months earlier. Of the 37 cases investigated by the SBI, 33 were for alcohol related offenses including driving while intoxicated in North Carolina. Most cases were dismissed on technicalities, such as tests not being completed or a witness not being available, though some were dropped without apparent reason. 70 dismissal forms signed by the Johnson County prosecutor were filed after she had left her position in September 2007. The court clerk was found to have deleted at least two cases from the court computer system.

The 70 dismissal forms were filed for cases involving just four criminal defense attorneys, including one former Johnson County prosecutor. It is not known if the defendants are aware that their cases were dismissed illegally.

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