Case Result: NC DMV Interlock Hearing for an Ignition Interlock Violation

Robbie Wilson attended an NC DMV Interlock Violation Hearing without an attorney in June of 2015. After that experience, he came to our Greensboro Office to see what his options were. As can be seen from the transcript of the Hearing (below) the hearing was completely unfair, biased and pre-judged by the Hearing Officer.

Read the revocation order which came from that hearing.

The Dummit Fradin interlock attorney filed an appeal within the 30 days deadline, but the State Assistant Attorney General attempted to argue that the deadline started from the Hearing Date rather than the Revocation date as stated in the statute.

The battle dragged out so long that the attorney working with our client became a Judge and attorney Clarke Dummit stepped in to see the appeal through.  We fought the case for several years with multiple Superior Court hearings before finally getting the case remanded back to the Division of Motor Vehicles for a fair hearing.  This time Robbie had an experienced interlock attorney from Dummit Fradin and the hearing went smoothly, and we won.  The fight took two years, but Robbie now has his full driver’s license without any interlock restrictions and no violation.

“This whole process about a supposed ignition interlock violation has been a nightmare.  I wish I had hired an attorney prior to the first hearing, but I am happy to finally have this mess behind me.  I hope posting this transcript can show others how bad the DMV hearing system is and that they need a good attorney from the start.” – Robbie

You do not want to go into a DMV Interlock Hearing without an experienced ignition interlock violation attorney. Please schedule a time to meet with one of our Interlock Attorneys to prepare your case for a solid defense.

Transcript Excerpt from an NC DMV Interlock Hearing:

Petitioner: Robbie Dale Wilson

Customer No.: XXXXXXX

Hearing Date: June 2, 2015

Hearing Officers: Gwen Hailey

Witness: Stacey Marie Wilson

HO Hailey: Okay. And Mr. Wilson uh we’re going to talk first about the Monitech Non-compliance Report dated on April 25th, 2014. Uh in which it shows that your required retest uh was a high-fail. Uh and this was on April 24^th 2014 at 9: 18 a.m. It was a high-fail at a .01 uh so we’re going to go, there were four incidents with regard to this April 25th, 2014 Non-compliance Report. And the, can you explain why on uh April 24th, 2014 at 9:18 a.m. uh machine registered a blood alcohol concentration level of .01?

Robbie Dale Wilson: And that would be I was on my way to Elizabeth City and it actually locked me out. That machine has a mind of its own especially if my diabetes is out of control or high so it registered that the acetone in my breath. I did have a highway patrolman to pull up behind me who I requested uh him give me a blood alcohol test which registered a 0.0.

HO Hailey: Okay. Now…

Robbie Dale Wilson: Which…

HO Hailey: … okay what is the date on this cause I don’t see a date on this.

Robbie Dale Wilson: Yeah I was trying to find the date. The date is that morning.

HO Hailey: Uh okay I see XXXXXXXX.

Robbie Dale Wilson: That’s my birthday.

HO Hailey: Birthday. Yeah I don’t see a date in which this …

Robbie Dale Wilson: Uh he might have forgot to put it on there.

HO Hailey: Okay it’s 4/24/2014.

Robbie Dale Wilson: I know it’s the date registered on that one.

HO Hailey: Uh at, at 9:46 a.m. okay so um this report from Trooper S. D. Vaugh of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol in Randolph County states that I stopped to check uh out this vehicle on Thursday 4/24/2014 at approximately 9:46 a.m. Mr. Wilson said his Monitech breath analyzer had locked him out from driving his vehicle for 45 minutes. I checked Mr. Wilson on my AlcoSensor type 4 series 026048 at 9:49 a.m. and registered a .00. Now at 9:49 a.m. that was hmm let me see uh …

Robbie Dale Wilson: It was probably about 20 minutes after.

HO Hailey: It uh actually it was more like 30 minutes afterwards.

Robbie Dale Wilson: But your blood alcohol is not going to change that much. Not in the time, I’m just saying I’m …

HO Hailey: That’s your argument sir?

Robbie Dale Wilson: No, I’m just saying that those machines are not accurate and that is according to the company themselves.

HO Hailey: Okay do …

Robbie Dale Wilson: They say they can’t…

HO Hailey: …do you have information with regards to that?

Robbie Dale Wilson: No because they will not give it to me. They’re not going to admit to their machines.

HO Hailey: Okay. Alright.

Robbie Dale Wilson: I mean but I do know for a fact you can take a swallow of anything go out there and blow in the machine and you will register.

HO Hailey: Okay.

Robbie Dale Wilson: Also I had, I do have where diabetes affects the machines, effects what comes out of your breath.

HO Hailey: Okay.

Robbie Dale Wilson: But the machine doesn’t get you know like if a bre-, if it sees anything that machines going to pick it up. And .01 if somebody’s drinking which I don’t drink not any, any, I mean I’ve quit for the past 5 years and if you’re drinking you’re going to be a lot higher than .01.

HO Hailey: No nee-, not necessarily sir.

Robbie Dale Wilson: If you take…

HO Hailey: We are trained, we are trained on how to read these loggers…

Robbie Dale Wilson: I…

HO Hailey: …okay so we know exactly what is true blood alcohol, and what is not true blood alcohol. And a .01 may under certain circumstances violate your conditional restoration if you are, if you have a restriction of .00 true blood alcohol…

Robbie Dale Wilson: Uh huh.

HO Hailey: … so we’re trained on how to analyze true bl-, blood alcohol…

Robbie Dale Wilson: Uh huh.

HO Hailey: … based on the loggers, okay.

Robbie Dale Wilson: But the loggers not true blood alcohol. In order to get true blood alcohol you have to have an NIR spectrometer. And that’s according to four doctors whom I r-, who I have as clients. That breathing …

HO Hailey: Who is …

Robbie Dale Wilson: … is like uh after effects. All its doing is picking up you know pa-, particular that are in your breathing.

HO Hailey: So if I understand correctly you’re saying that the uh oh that the uh the high-fail of .01 on 4/24/14 was due to your diabetic condition?

Robbie Dale Wilson: It is due to diabetes or possibly I didn’t rinse out good enough after I ate a cracker cause was on my way to Elizabeth City …

HO Hailey: Hmm.

Robbie Dale Wilson: … so I ate a pack of crackers for breakfast. I believe I would like to stop this hearing and get an attorney to represent me at this point.

HO Hailey: Um.

Robbie Dale Wilson: I request counsel.

HO Hailey: Okay. Um I need to call my supervisor and see if that is possible because typically we need 48 uh 24 hours notice um …

Robbie Dale Wilson: Okay it’s just your being a little more difficult than the lady in Hickory that I dealt with, the last Examiner. See I’ve had this done already and she …

HO Hailey: I, I understand sir.

Robbie Dale Wilson: … ??? And I mean she, she agrees, she knows that. I mean she’s been doing it a lot of years.

HO Hailey: I understand.

Robbie Dale Wilson: And she knows. Okay I’m just trying, I’m trying to make my case.

HO Hailey: I understand sir so um so because you think that I’m going to rule against you, you want an attorney. If that, that’s the understanding?

Robbie Dale Wilson: Yes.

HO Hailey: Because you think I’m going to rule against you …

Robbie Dale Wilson: That’s just what I’m, yeah.

HO Hailey: … want an attorney?

Robbie Dale Wilson: That is correct.

HO Hailey: Okay. Well um…

Robbie Dale Wilson: I mean it doesn’t …

HO Hailey: … what we’re going to do is go forward with the hearing.

Robbie Dale Wilson: Okay.

HO Hailey: Okay. And I am then going to consult with my supervisor and if he tells me to go forward with my decision I will go forward with my decision. If he tells me that you to allow you to have an attorney then I will um uh then I will reschedule, okay.

Robbie Dale Wilson: Okay.

HO Hailey: Alright. Does that make sense?

Robbie Dale Wilson: Uh hmm.

HO Hailey: I think that’s an excellent compromise okay and that way I, because you’re taking the space of somebody else who could have been here you know this morning. Okay. Okay.