A DWI conviction has been thrown out by the North Carolina Court of Appeals because it was determined that the arresting officer did not have enough probable cause to pull the car over.

The DWI arrest happened in 2009 on the night of a robbery in Edneyville. An officer responding to the robbery call scoured the surrounding area for suspects, and came across the man's car stopped near the crime scene. The officer claims to have heard screaming near the car and that he saw the vehicle "accelerate rapidly," according to court documents.

The officer pulled the car over on the suspicion that the driver was involved in the robbery. Instead the officer smelled the odor of alcohol on the man. He applied two breath tests which came back over the limit, and then arrested the man.

He was convicted of the DWI, but that has now been overturned because the Court of Appeals did not want to set a precedent that would allow police officers without probable cause to pull over citizens that are not breaking any traffic laws.

The court stated that the officer's "reasoning must be based on more than an unparticularized suspicion or hunch."

It varies from state to state, but there are laws in place that protect its citizens from unfair or wrongful treatment by police officers. Some laws prevent the use of quotas that can generate unwarranted and ambiguous arrests.

In this case, the arresting officer jumped to a conclusion before ascertaining probable cause, and because of that someone was arrested and convicted by unjust means. Consult an experienced lawyer to explore your legal options when an officer's actions infringe on your rights.

Source: The Times-News, "Appeals court overturns drunken driving charge," John Harbin, Jan. 3, 2012