State v. Denning

MARTIN, Justice.

On 3 April 1984 defendant was convicted in District Court, Bladen County, of driving while impaired in violation of N.C.G.S. § 20-138.1 of the Safe Roads Act of 1983. He appealed to the superior court for a trial de novo and was found guilty by a jury. The trial judge, authorized by N.C.G.S. § 20-179 to impose one of five levels of punishment depending upon statutorily enumerated aggravating and mitigating factors, found one grossly aggravating factor — that defendant had a prior conviction for a similar offense within seven years —and imposed a Level Two punishment. 1

Defendant…