DUI Law In Colorado, Denver DUI Attorney
The Iyer Law Office LLC, Denver Colorado
DUI Law In Colorado: If you are charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) you need Denver DUI Defense Attorney lawyer to help you navigate the situation. An attorney can ensure you don’t miss the deadline to request a hearing so that your driver’s license is not automatically revoked.
Let’s review the DUI law in Colorado on both issues.
In Colorado, the legal limit is 0.08. What that means is you cannot have more than 0.08 grams of alcohol in 100 milliliters of your blood, while you are driving, in control of a vehicle, or within two hours of driving. This is called your blood alcohol content (BAC).
If your blood or breath is tested by law enforcement, and your BAC is between 0.05 and 0.08, then you’ll be charged with DWAI (Driving While Ability Impaired). You still need to take it very seriously, because in Colorado if you are convicted of DWAI you can receive a sentence similar to a DUI sentence.
The DWAI statute makes it a crime for you to drive when your ability is “impaired to the slightest degree.” At trial, a jury would have to use those words to determine whether you are guilty or not.
If your blood alcohol content is 0.05 or higher, the district attorney is allowed to tell the jury that you are presumed guilty. A skilled DUI attorney can effectively challenge that presumption. The case against you may include your BAC and other “evidence of impairment.” Depending on the facts of your case, your lawyer may be able to effectively defend against both types of evidence.
Did you know that when you are charged with a DUI/DWAI you have only 7 days, including weekends and holidays, to request your hearing with the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)?
If you don’t, your license may be revoked from three months to one year, and in some cases longer than two years.
If you have not requested a hearing with the DMV within the seven days, you have also given up the right to challenge any legal issue arising from the notice of revocation forever including your right to appeal the DMV decision of revocation.
Other Evidence of Impairment
If your case goes to trial, the BAC evidence will be only part of the prosecutor’s case against you. The officer will also testify about his observations of you, including how you performed on the roadside tests.
If they accuse you of DUI, they almost always use the words that are calculated to convict you at trial. Attorney Iyer has read hundreds of DUI police reports. He knows the officer always writes: “the driver had slurred speech, and bloodshot watery eyes, and an unknown smell of alcoholic beverage on his breath.”
The impairment evidence in your case may include:
- The statements you made to the officer
- Mistakes you made while driving
- Your “bloodshot watery eyes, and slurred speech”
- Your performance on the field sobriety tests
Field sobriety tests, commonly called “roadside tests,” include a walk and turn, balancing on one foot, counting backward, and so on. The horizontal gaze nystagmus test is where the police officer asks you to follow the tip of a pen with your eyes as it is moved from side to side.
Your performance on these tests are a subjective determination, and the jury in your case will hopefully not agree with the officer’s conclusions. Further, these tests are supposed to be performed using very specific guidelines, and many times the officer does not follow the proper procedure.
If the officer cannot say that your driving was bad, this may call the results of the roadside tests into question. This leaves a lot of room for effective cross examination at your trial.
As an experienced DUI Attorney Iyer advises clients to refuse to perform these roadside field sobriety tests, but always agree to do the chemical breath or blood test.
The sentences given for DUI have become harsher over the years. Today in Colorado, even your first DUI can land you in jail if your BAC is high enough. Second or third offenses can lead to serious jail sentences.
So you must take any charge of DUI/DWAI very seriously. You need Attorney Iyer, an experienced Denver DUI defense attorney, to fight for you. The sooner the better.
You can contact Attorney Iyer here for a free consultation about your DUI or DWAI case.
