Under North Carolina law, a driver with a 0.08 percent or greater blood-alcohol level is considered impaired. According to the study by the Charlotte Observer, most drivers charged with DWI plead guilty.

However, the study found that between January 2002 and February 2004, judges acquitted more than 3,500 DWI offenders. The number of acquittals varies from county to county.

For instance, in the mountain counties of McDowell, Rutherford, and Transylvania, 98 out of 100 people who fight their DWI charges in court are convicted. But in the coastal counties of Carteret, Craven, and Pamlico, fewer than 10 percent are convicted. The conviction rate is also less than 15 percent in Wake County, which includes Raleigh. In the Charlotte region, the conviction rate varies from 80 percent in Cabarrus County to just below the 63-percent state average in Gaston and Mecklenburg counties.

"That's troubling," said North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Beverly Lake Jr. "I'm astounded at the wide disparity in conviction rates between judges. I don't understand."

"Something is terribly wrong," said Cheryl Jones, a national vice president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. "We have very good laws. But we have judges who are doing whatever they please. They aren't following the law. Every one a judge lets off thinks they have beaten the system and they're going to do it again."

Since 2000, North Carolina judges have acquitted more than 120 suspects who were later convicted in other DWI cases.

Many judges said they acquit people who register 0.08 or 0.09 because there is no proof of additional signs of impairment. "The Intoxilyzer is just another piece of evidence," said Cumberland County Judge Ed Donaldson. "It may be a major factor. It may not be. I'm looking at the whole picture."

Furthermore, judges said cases that go to trial sometimes have weak evidence. Occasionally, there is reasonable doubt beyond the Intoxilyzer reading, such as whether there were adequate reasons for police to stop or arrest the driver.

"I look at the total package -- the driving, the police officer's observations, and the field sobriety tests," said Paul Gessner a district judge in Wake County. "I'm not just letting people go. I'm acquitting people when the state can't prove its case."

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