Fighting a Colorado DUI - Colorado DUI Law Summary Part I

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Are you facing your first DUI offense in Colorado? Perhaps this is your second or third DUI and you are wondering if its worth hiring a Colorado DUI lawyer. Despite what your friends may have told you, this is not an area of the law where do-it-yourself fixes work well. As I tell everyone who is contemplating showing up at court and just taking the District Attorney's offer, "the District Attorney is not your friend" nor does he (or she) have your best interest in mind. The DMV Hearing Section isn't at all interested in how you'll get to work or care for your kids without a driver's license. The bottom line is that representing yourself in a DUI is not always the cheapest and easiest way to deal with the justice system.

If you are facing a jail sentence its wise to hire an experienced DUI attorney to help you through the process. There are so many pitfalls involved in defending against a drunk driving charge that you need competent help from a Colorado attorney to insure that your rights are protected. I started DUI-Advisor in 1998 as a way of informing the public about ways to successfully defend against a Colorado DUI. Since then DUI-Advisor has grown from a single page into a substantial resource for anyone seeking generic advice on a drunk driving or DUID charge.

Colorado's enforcement is so unreasonable today that if you drink even one beer or a glass of wine with dinner you can't be sure that you won't be arrested for an alcohol related driving offense. Since the 1980's state and local governments have discovered that DUI arrests are an excellent way to generate revenue. Pushed by special interest groups and a desire of local governments to increase "revenue," the national "legal limit" has crept steadily lower. Accordingly, police look for any excuse to pull over drivers during hours when people are likely to be driving after having consumed alcohol. In addition police agencies in most districts have adopted policies of stopping as many people as possible as a general crime fighting measure. These policies mean that many people are stopped without the minimum "reasonable suspicion" - the police simply make up a reason to stop them! About half of the people we see charged with drunk driving were stopped for otherwise minor traffic violations such as speeding or having a burnt out license plate light - not for erratic driving as you'd expect.

In order to effectively defend against a Colorado alcohol driving charge you or your attorney must be familiar with both the law specific to this area, and how those laws are applied by the courts. Having a competent Colorado DUI attorney can mean the difference between acquittal and losing your driver's license or going to jail. We get a lot of calls from people who think if they avoid the problems for three or seven years the "Statute of Limitations will take care of everything. The fact of the matter is that the Statute of Limitaitons doesn't apply where a case has been filed against you in court. Nor is it possible to "Expunge" record of a DUI conviction in Colorado after the fact. Its always best to fight the DUI with every weapon available to you. This requires a well trained dui attorney.

Our goal is to provide you with quality representation and prompt service. We know the law and how it will be applied in your case. What's more we understand technical defenses based upon blood and breath testing. We are trained in the correct operation of the breath test machines used here, the Intoxylizer 5000EN. We are also certified to administer NHTSA Standardized Field Sobriety tests. Cliff Hypsher is a member of the National College for DUI Defense, Inc! Call now for a free consultation if you or some one you know needs competent help with a drunk driving offense.

The site is designed to make understanding the the DUI Law a little easier. If some of the links are not active when you visit please give us a call an hopefully we can correct the problem so that you get the full benefit of the site's content.

There are three major parts to the "Summary." Below, in Part I, you will find some simple first steps you should take if you have recently been arrested for a drunk driving offense. Part II discusses Administrative Penalties. Part III concerns Criminal Penalties for Colorado DUIs. Part I contains practical steps to take immediately after your are released from custody to insure that your rights are protected. Part II and III are intended to help you to understand the DUI process and what penalties you are facing and should be reviewed after you've gone through Part I.

How do I prepare myself to fight a DUI arrest?

Most people arrested for drunk driving are pretty shaken up for a few days after their arrest. Because of ever decreasing "legal limits," behavior which most people would consider innocent - a couple glasses of wine with dinner or a few beers during a concert can result in fines, lengthy probation or jail. What can you do to protect yourself against drunk driving charges? Obviously, you could never drink alcohol at a party, restaurant or concert again. But what if you already been arrested for DUI? Listed below are a few simple steps you should take as soon as you are released by the police or detox center:

  • Gather all paperwork relevant to your DUI arrest.

    Documents given to you at the time of your release may contain information which will form the basis of a defense, e.g., do the documents contain facts, errors or inconsistencies which can be used to discredit the police officer's reason for stopping you? Was a test taken within the two hour time limit mandated by law? You should also preserve documents such as credit card receipts from the tavern or restaurant where you consumed alcohol. These documents can be of significance if the alcohol test results are inconsistent with the number of drinks you consumed. Documents such as cell phone records, restaurant receipts, etc., may help your case if the time of contact with police or time of driving becomes an issue. A bar tab may be used to show that your alcohol consumption was inconsistent with the result of a blood or breath test.

  • Write down everything you remember about the arrest.

    Any experienced criminal defense lawyer will tell you that as time passes you will forget important details about your case. While certain facts may seem insignificant to you, these same facts in the hands of an experienced attorney could mean the difference between conviction and acquittal. Talk to friends or family to ask them what they remember. The police are trained to take notes about things that might incriminate you. Many police personnel will purposely exclude facts from their reports that might exonerate you - so its up to you to bring facts which might help you to your attorney's attention. Take a few minutes to write down everything you remember about what happened before you were contacted by the police. Your notes should include a detailed account of everything you said and that the police said up to the time you were released. Include a list of what you had to drink and when you drank it. These notes could be helpful in formulating a defense or to refresh you memory months later during a trial or other hearing.

  • Request a hearing from the Colorado Department of Revenue.

    Except in rare instances, it is always a good idea to request a hearing concerning revocation of your drivers license for "driving with excessive alcohol content." At minimum, if a valid request for hearing is made but no hearing is scheduled by DMV within 60 days, you are entitled to have your license returned! If you took a breath test or refused any test and you were issued an Affidavit and Notice of Revocation you should request a hearing, in writing, with the Department of Revenue within seven days. Failure to do so will not only result in loss of your driver's license but also loss of your right to a hearing during which you might save your license. In order to make sure that the written request is made properly, consult with a competent attorney prior to going to DMV if possible. Click here to see hearing request and temporary license. If you took a blood test, the hearing request must be made later, within a time period that will be specified in correspondence from the Colorado DMV. When you go to a DMV office to request a hearing, you may also wish to obtain a photo ID card.

  • Determine whether to request the officer's presence at the DMV hearing.

    Many attorneys recommend that you request the presence of the police officer (at the hearing) in your written request. This is not always good advice. First, you can be assured that if the officer attends the DMV hearing he will "supplement" his report with any critical details he may have left out. I normally ask police officers to attend the hearing only if it is unlikely that my client's defense will use a "lack of evidence" in the reports as a ground for dismissal of the action. This determination is based upon my analysis of the facts and any documentation obtained before the hearing is requested.

    Second, if you request "the officer" DMV will summon the officer who signed the Affidavit and Notice of Revocation. This may not be the officer who stopped you or who was actually involved in the stage of the arrest process that you wish to contest. If it turns out, after a review of the police reports and other documentation that police testimony is desirable at the DMV hearing, I can request that DMV issue a subpoena for the specific officer of officers needed at the hearing.

  • Contact an experienced dui defense attorney.

    This is an obvious step to protect your rights. Unless you've had some training in general criminal law and DUI law in particular, you should run your case by a lawyer who specializes in DUI. Whether you hire an attorney should be a decision made after careful deliberation, but usually it costs you nothing to speak with an attorney on the telephone about your case.

More information about protecting your rights.

DUI-Advisor is intended as a resource for non-lawyers faced with a Colorado DUI. The information provided here is updated periodically, however DUI law is constantly evolving -always consult with a licensed attorney before making any important decision about your case!

Attorney Cliff Hypsher
3780 South Broadway
Englewood, CO 80113

Tel 303.806.5104

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Call Attorney Cliff Hypsher today for a free telephone consultation at 1.877.362.9091. Payment plans available.

Dui-AdvisorŠ This information is provided for reference only without any expressed or implied warranty. Always check with a licensed attorney before making any decision concerning legal issues involving your right to drive!