The NC DWI Guy

On today's podcast Jessica Rocker joins the NC DWI Guy to discuss the use of handheld breath testing devices for sentencing mitigation and proving sobriety. Jessica is a Technology Solutions Manager with Smart Start, Inc. Jessica is passionate about building relationships with judges, attorneys, and public officials and providing information about the options that exist when it comes to proving pe...

In this episode of the NC DWI Guy, Jake takes us on a tour of recent North Carolina Appellate Decisions that touch on various aspects of DWI cases. If you want a good summary of the legal decisions from the last few years dealing with DWI cases and how to utilize the holdings of these cases in defending your client, look no further.  

On today's podcast Holden Clark joins the show to discuss the importance of mental health and substance abuse concerns for attorneys. Holden practices in Gaston County and was a public defender from 2014-2017. Holden's passion project is mental health, particularly among his fellow bar members, and discussing how to avoid depression and achieve optimal living within the legal profession. Highlight...

If you don't know the answer to this question, the likelihood of landing your next DWI client is in serious jeopardy and your practice is in serious trouble. In this episode of the NC DWI Guy, Jake discusses why this question is important to answer not only so you can communicate it to a potential client, but so that you know why your law firm exists and what value you bring to the legal marketpla...

On today's podcast we continue our 5-part series on Attacking Breath Testing. In this final part of this series, Stephen Lindsay discusses the tactics of attack the State's primary witness, i.e. the intox machine, in closing arguments. Steve devotes a substantial amount of his time to training programs, lectures and keynote addresses. He has been a faculty member at the National Criminal Defense C...

On today's podcast we continue our 5-part series on Attacking Breath Testing. In this fourth part of this series, Matt Davenport talks about the "deemed sufficient" language of 20-138.1 and his case of State v. Narron in which he challenged this language. Matt is a former Pitt County prosecutor and has been involved in organizing and/or teaching more than 25 CLEs on DWI in North Carolina.     High...

On today's podcast we continue our 5-part series on Attacking Breath Testing. In this third part of this series, James Nesci joins the NC DWI Guy to reveal how to use basic math principles to attack breath machines. James Nesci has been board certified by the National College of DUI Defense since 2001 and served as the College's Dean during the 2016-2017 academic year. Mr. Nesci often defended cas...

On today's podcast we continue our 5-part series on Attacking Breath Testing. In this second part of this series, the NC DWI Guy does of a deep dive into the EC/IR II breath testing machine with expert witness and board certified toxicologist Dr. Andy Ewens. Dr. Ewens was on Episode 59 (the first episode of this five-part series) to discuss the science of breath testing, so take a listen to that e...

On today's podcast we begin our 5-part series on Attacking Breath Testing. In this first part of this series, the NC DWI Guy discusses the science of breath testing with expert witness and board certified toxicologist Dr. Andy Ewens. Dr. Ewens has a PhD in pharmacology and has spent 15 years as a government contract toxicologist. He has conducted studies on the EC/IR II (which he owns), the SFST/D...

On today's podcast Jake is joined by the one and only guru of legal marketing and culture, Michael Mogill . Michael is Founder & CEO of Crisp Video Group , the nation's fastest-growing law firm growth company and is the author of the Amazon Best-Seller, " The Game Changing Attorney ." On his podcast, the Game Changing Attorney, Michael has discussed how to differentiate yourself from the competiti...

Want to take your legal business to the next level? On today's episode, the NC DWI Guy goes over a list of 10 game changing marketing and self-development resources to improve yourself and your business. If you want to grow your business then you need to grow yourself as a person and as an entrepreneur and marketer. If you take advantage of just one of the 10 resources that Jake suggests during th...

Episode 56: Utilizing State v. Knoll in DWI Cases On today's episode, Nathan Earwood joins the NC DWI Guy to discuss the practical application and utilization of State v. Knoll. After laying out the legal framework for Knoll based defenses in last week's episode, today's podcast lays out the real-life impact of State v. Knoll for people charged with a DWI. Operating his criminal defense practice i...

On today's podcast the NC DWI Guy talks about the seminal North Carolina Supreme Court Decision of State v. Knoll. This incredibly powerful case is grossly underutilized by the criminal defense bar in North Carolina and Jake believes that a major reason for this is a lack of understanding of the case by the judges, prosecutors, and, most importantly, criminal defense lawyers. On today's episode ta...

On today's podcast the NC DWI Guy sits down with Zeb Smathers. Over the past 10+ years, Zeb has built his reputation in the legal community, and more importantly in his local community, one client at a time. Zeb views his clients as friends and his "friend network" has allowed him to grow his business through referrals with very little spent on advertising. If you want to learn how to grow your pr...

Want to take your courtroom game to the next level? On today's episode, the NC DWI Guy goes over a list of 10 game changing resources to improve your knowledge of North Carolina DWI issues and concepts. The key to knowing how to improve your knowledge of NC DWI laws is knowing where to look. If you take advantage of just one of the 10 resources that Jake suggests during this episode, you will do y...

On today's podcast the NC DWI Guy sits down with LeAnn Melton. LeAnn began working as an Assistant Public Defender in 1996 before becoming Chief Public Defender of Buncombe County in January of 2008. LeAnn acted as lead counsel on a number of high profile cases during her tenure as Chief while also advancing the Offices court and community initiatives. Highlights: Listen as LeAnn gives young attor...

Today on the NC DWI Guy Podcast we investigate what it means for a test to be standardized. There are three Standardized Field Sobriety Tests: horizontal gaze nystagmus, walk and turn, and one leg stand. We explore the process by which these three test were standardized and what aspects of SFSTs are standardized. We also explore the value, if any, of non-standardized field sobriety tests? Highligh...

On today's episode, Jake is joined by James Davis II . James concentrates his practice in criminal defense with special focus on DUI/DWI defense. Due to his focus on DWI defense, James now dedicates significant time to educating fellow attorneys on how to aggressively attack DWI charges as a defense lawyer. James has taught numerous CLEs on DWI topics and has published a number of manuscripts on I...

In today's episode of the NC DWI Guy Jake stresses the importance of spending the time systematizing your "aha" moments. We all have a family member that asks us every time we get together if we are a patent attorney because they have a million-dollar invention that will change the world. Spoiler alert: that idea is going nowhere because in the words of Felix Dennis: "Ideas don't make you rich. Th...

On today's episode, Jake is joined by Ali Awad , the CEO Lawyer. Ali has grown his law firm at an incredible rate since starting as a solo practitioner in 2017 to 20 employees by the close of 2020. He has already added 7 new team members during the first two months of 2021. Much of the growth of Ali's firm is attributed to his social media marketing strategy . Ali has devoted significant energy to...

Today on the NC DWI Guy Podcast we talk about the Walk and Turn! A divided attention test, the W&T is a critical test during most investigations for DWI. If you don't know the three standardized field sobriety tests backwards and forwards then you should not be handling DWI cases. In this episode, Jake Minick does a deep dive on the ways to attack the Walk and Turn test.   Highlights:   Learn the...

On today's episode, the NC DWI Guy is joined by Meghann Burke, the President of the Buncombe County Criminal Defense Bar. Since joining forces with Bill Brazil in 2011, Meghann has expanded Brazil & Burke's criminal defense and civil litigation practice areas. She is active with the North Carolina Advocates for Justice ("NCAJ"), having served on NCAJ's Executive Committee, Board of Governors, Lega...

Today on the NC DWI Guy Podcast we talk about the One Leg Stand! If you don't know the three standardized field sobriety tests backwards and forwards then you should not be handling DWI cases. In this episode, Jake Minick does a deep dive on the ways to attack the One Leg Stand test.   Highlights:   Understand the environment required for performing the one leg stand and how to utilize poor field...

In today's episode the NC DWI Guy gives general advice on best practices for negotiation a criminal charge be it a felony drug case or a traffic ticket.  If you want to get the best outcome for your client's case then you need to go into a conversation with the district attorney with a game plan. This episode is chock-full of easy to implement advice that you can immediately utilize in your plea n...

On today's podcast the NC DWI Guy sits down with Public Defender Tim Henderson. Tim's wonderful sense of humor and great story telling abilities shine as he speaks with us about the challenges and joys of representing the indigent in court.   Highlights: Hear great advice on how to communicate with your client and why you should never begin your conversation/consultation with a client by talking a...