Many offenses in the state of North Carolina may be pleaded down; however, the District Attorney is not generally allowed to dismiss or offer a plea bargain to a lesser charge if an offender has been charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI). The District Attorney must put very detailed facts in the record if they want to reduce such a charge. This is different from another criminal case where the DA may simply state that there is insufficient evidence.
Other US states are permitted to allow a DWI charge to be pleaded down to a lesser charge, such as reckless driving, if the DA decides to do so; but, due to requirements in North Carolina it is highly unlikely that a person who is charged with DWI will have his or her case dismissed or pleaded down. The intricacies of North Carolina DWI law force someone who has been charged with the violation to hire an attorney to navigate through the procedures.
