In North Carolina, the law permits that if a person has been arrested for DWI, that person’s vehicle may be seized if his or her license had been revoked due to a previous impaired driving revocation. The ability of that person to get his or her vehicle back will depend on a few factors. So, if the person is the only owner of the vehicle, and he is found not guilty at trial, he can get his vehicle back. The problem here is that if the arrestee is convicted, there is a strong likelihood the vehicle will be taken permanently. Further, the arrestee will be responsible to pay any costs associated with the seizure regardless of whether he is convicted to DWI.
Next, if the impounded vehicle has an owner other than the person arrested, he should be able to retain the vehicle back quite quickly. A different holder may also include a lienholder on the title of the car. The owner of the vehicle would need to contact the Clerk of Court in the county where the vehicle was seized to determine the process necessary to recover the vehicle.
This rule seems incredibly unfair. However, the North Carolina legislature has made the determination that laws enforcing this are in the best interest of North Carolina residents.
