In some situations it may be advisable to appeal a DWI conviction. This occurs when someone is found guilty in District Court but there are additional circumstances that arise which allow the conviction to be challenged. In some cases additional evidence or new information comes to light which may serve to overturn the conviction. Other times there may be issues with the trial process in District Court which can be appealed to a higher court.
Cases that are being appealed must be filed within 10 days to Superior Court. In order to be able to appeal your case you must have pled not guilty when your case was in District Court and no plea bargain was reached. Generally when a plea bargain is reached the right to appeal the case is waived so long as the sentence is within legal limits. Once your case is in Superior Court it is like starting over again. However it is possible that the Superior Court may hand down a higher sentence than what was issued in District Court, so the option of appealing a case is not always advisable.
Once an attorney reviews the case and decides it needs to be appealed he will begin the process of having the case moved to superior, which is where appeals are heard in North Carolina. In some instances the prosecution and Superior Court may agree to have the case remanded to the District Court, in which case the case will be reconsidered in District Court. Not all convictions will be able to be appealed, but if the factors in your case present an opportunity to have your case appealed it may still be possible to have your conviction overturned.
