DUI’s happen. Alcohol is legal, so is driving. So is combining the two, but from there on it can get fuzzy. If things get too fuzzy you’re charged with a misdemeanor and face a host of other unpleasant consequences.

There are two tracks of governmental enforcement of our DUI laws, one judicial and one administrative. Like cords in a DNA helix these two strands are at once parallel and interrelated. They play back and forth with each other and this dynamic, unique to criminal law, must be attended to in order to secure your best interests.

Denver DUI Arrest

You are pulled over, the officer detects the odor of alcohol on your breath, asks you to perform a roadside sobriety test, decides you failed and asks which blood alcohol level (BAL) test you want to take: breath, or blood? Which one do you want to take? And what happens if you refuse to take either?

Refuse to take a test and the administrative strand of the helix--the Motor Vehicle Division of the Department of Revenue-- will slap you with an immediate 12 month revocation of your driver’s license. Take the test, say the breathalyzer, and if you test over .01 BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) the prosecutor just may have you dead bang for DUI per se. However, the administrative revocation of your license will be only three months, that is assuming you have no prior DUI convictions.

Driving While Impaired - Denver

Lets assume, staying with the same hypothetical, you go to court and the prosecutor cuts you a deal to take Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI), which is an 8 point violation (as opposed to 12 points for DUI). Fine, you think, by this time the three month period of revocation has passed and you can go on your merry way a little sadder but wiser. BUT WAIT, if you have points on your driving record that, together with the DWAI add up to twelve or more within a one year period, guess what?, Motor Vehicles can suspend your license again on points. When negotiating pleas be aware of the point total on your driving record.

At every stage of these intertwining judicial and administrative strands there are possible avenues of escape, or at least, amelioration. Did the officer have a reason to pull you over in the first place? How did you do on the roadside sobriety test? Was there probable cause to administer the BAL test? The answers to these questions may require a suppression motion, if you had taken the test, or a motion to rescind the Motor Vehicle revocation, if you had refused to take the test. A handy way to get those answers is provided by the Department of Motor Vehicles itself, because it will give you a hearing at which you or, your attorney may cross examine the arresting officer on the record. There is a catch to this nifty discovery mechanism, however, YOU MUST REQUEST THE HEARING WITHIN 7 DAYS OF YOUR LICENSE REVOCATION. Always, but always, request the hearing.

Other areas to dig into are the qualifications and certifications of both the people and equipment involved in the BAL test. Don’t expect any "get out of jail free" cards here, but certification shortcomings can be used to create a reasonable doubt about the validity of the test in front of a jury.  

It may be advisable to do a re-test of the duplicate samples of your breath or blood which by law the arresting agency must keep and release upon request. A substantial variance in the re-test can likewise call the validity of the original into question.

The matrix of our DUI laws and regulations is a briar patch for accused and enforcer alike. There is no guarantee that your Brer Rabbit will be able to get out of it without a scratch, but I will strive to minimize the abrasions, and dart for the light of those openings the facts of your case present.

Colorado Traffic Offenses -
Moving Violations

If, as the saying goes, 90% of politics is showing up the same may be said for representing yourself in "minor" traffic cases: speeding violations, no proof of insurance and driving under suspension. You can do yourself a lot of good by showing up, giving your side of the story, asking for a reduction in points and moving on. However professional representation does become cost effective when dealing with multiple violations and/or if you reside outside of the great state of Colorado. An attorney can consolidate cases, get concessions from the prosecutor and in many cases insulate you from having to appear in court or at hearings.