The Moore County District Attorney’s Office identified 73 driving while impaired (DWI) cases pending in Moore County district court with dates of offense from November 2022 or earlier. Moore County District Attorney Mike Hardin asked the court to schedule a special week to handle these matters beginning Nov. 27 and ending Dec. 1.
Twelve of these cases resulted in guilty verdicts prior to court last week. One case resulted in a not-guilty verdict. One case was indicted as a felony. Four defendants had orders for arrest issued for failure to appear and are still unserved. One case was dismissed after a judge granted a defense motion to suppress. Seven of these cases could not be calendared for this week.
Last week, 47 cases were scheduled for trial, and 38 cases were closed as a result of the special session. After being scheduled for trial, 34 cases resulted in guilty verdicts. Two cases resulted in not-guilty verdicts. One defendant did not appear in court, resulting in an order for their arrest being issued. Two cases were dismissed. Eight cases were continued. Overall, this week ended with an 89% conviction rate.
This is the third year the Moore County District Attorney’s Office has conducted a week-long special DWI court to dispose of cases to prevent a backlog.
“I would like to thank the Moore County Clerk’s Office, the North Carolina Highway Patrol, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office bailiff staff, and the many different law enforcement agencies that worked with my office to make this week a success,” said Hardin. “I would also like to thank the Conference of District Attorneys for providing their assistance and providing staff to assist my office.”
