If you are required to endure the excruciating process of receiving a DWI, this is scary enough; however, what if you have been convicted 
of a previous DWI? The answer here is that you will be facing a more serious charge. The State of North Carolina has some of the toughest DWI laws in the nation, and the State is unforgiving with regard to repeat offenders.
Punishment for DWI is determined by taking the grossly aggravating, aggravating, and mitigating factors associated with the most recent charge and weighing them out. If a person has one grossly aggravating factor, he may face prison time from seven days to one year. Grossly aggravating factors include the following:
(1) a prior conviction for DWI within the past seven years; (2) a DWI conviction which occurred after the offense date, but before or while the current DWI is being sentenced; (3) The DWI occurred while the defendants license was revoked under G.S. 20-28; (4) a child under the age of 18 was in the vehicle at the time of the DWI (this requires a level 1 sentence); and (5) the driving caused an accident involving a serious injury to another person.
If you have garnered two grossly aggravating factors, then the sentence increases up to 30 days minimum jail time to up to two years. Timing here, is the most important factor, and a prior DWI conviction will fall into this category if the DWI conviction occurred within seven years of the current charge. For example, if you were convicted of DWI eight years ago, but you were charged with the current DWI, one and a half years ago, then the prior DWI conviction would be considered a grossly aggravating factor due to the fact that the previous conviction and new charge falls within seven years of each other.
