Colorado Springs DUI Attorney
Driving under the influence is a serious charge, and a conviction can have life-altering consequences. An experienced Colorado Springs DUI attorney from Peakstone Law Group, LLC can examine your case and identify all possible defenses. Our trusted legal team has helped many people across Colorado get DUI charges reduced or even dismissed altogether. We will fight for the best possible outcome in your case.
Contact us today for a free and confidential consultation with a trusted DUI criminal defense attorney. Our team is available 24/7.
We represent clients facing all DUI charges, including:
We help clients throughout El Paso County, Teller County, Pueblo County, Park County, Fremont County, and the nearby areas; our office is conveniently located off of US Route 85 in Colorado Springs.
Is It Worth Getting a DUI Lawyer?
While it is true that you have the right to defend yourself in criminal court, there is also some truth to the old adage that “A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client.”
The reason people hire DUI attorneys to defend them from a drunk driving charge is the same reason they see a doctor when they are sick, hire an architect to design their house, or speak with an accountant about their taxes. Professionals have specialized training and experience that the average person simply does not possess.
Neither the police officer who arrested you nor the prosecutor in charge of your case is there to help you. They are not your friends. They are not looking to cut you the best plea deal possible. They just want you to plead guilty.
For these reasons, you should at least speak with a Colorado Springs DUI attorney to go over the facts of your case. At Peakstone Law Group, LLC, we offer free initial consultations. Bring the police report and any other documentation relating to your arrest with you to the consultation. Write down a list of questions you would like to ask. That will help you make the most of your time. A face-to-face meeting is also a good way for you to gauge whether our law firm would be a good fit for you.
To schedule your free initial consultation, contact our DUI law firm today. We have everything you need to help you get through your legal matter.
What Does a DUI Attorney Do?
Your attorney is your professional representative who assists you in all phases of your case:
- At the DMV hearing, your lawyer will question witnesses and make arguments to the hearing officer.
- At the discovery stage, your attorney will review all of the evidence the state has against you, such as police reports, witness statements, dash cam or body cam footage, etc. This will help your lawyer identify possible defenses and evaluate the strength of the case against you.
- At each court appearance, your attorney will negotiate with the prosecutor and communicate with the judge on your behalf.
- At trial (if necessary), your criminal defense lawyer will cross-examine witnesses, present your defense, and everything in-between.
How Do You Defend Against a DUI?
After reviewing the details leading up to your DUI accusations, our attorney will then evaluate the most effective defense options available in your unique circumstances. We utilize a risk assessment approach, meaning we will anticipate the risks and costs of each DUI defense strategy and determine the best ways to counter or minimize those risks. By doing this, we hope to prepare you for the best and worst-case scenarios in your case, better preventing you from getting caught off-guard in the courtroom.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at the possible DUI defenses below that you could use to fight your charges:
- Improper stop by police: The police must have reasonable suspicion that a crime is taking place or will take place before pulling you over. Examples of indicators that could create a reasonable suspicion of a crime include weaving in and out of lanes, driving without headlights on, speeding, or driving excessively below the speed limit.
- Failure to follow field sobriety test protocols: The Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST) is a battery of three individual tests that all examine different signs of impairment. The SFST includes the horizontal gaze nystagmus, one-leg stand, and walk-and-turn tests, which all must be administered properly, or else the test results will be skewed. If an officer doesn’t follow the rules for each SFST, they could risk causing inaccurate and unreliable results. As such, your lawyer can question the reliability of both the officer and field sobriety test results in court, potentially helping to get your DUI charges reduced or dismissed.
- Mishandling of blood samples: Once you get arrested for DUI, you may be required to give a blood sample to examine your blood alcohol concentration (BAC). This procedure must be handled by a trained and qualified technician who can be trusted to handle the blood samples accurately. If your blood samples are not stored in the right temperatures, mislabeled, or collected by an untrained professional, for instance, then your lawyer can argue that this evidence should be tossed out because it is unreliable.
- False-positive breathalyzer test: You’d be surprised at how often a breathalyzer test could go wrong. External conditions and underlying medical conditions are often the culprits of skewed test results, and even the arresting police officer could be blamed for not following the breathalyzer test protocol correctly. These errors and inconsistencies could cause false-positive breath test results, and ultimately, your DUI case could be thrown out altogether.
- Violation of Miranda Rights: Your Miranda Warning must be read before getting questioned by the police. Unfortunately, if your Miranda Rights are violated by the police, anything you say could be deemed inadmissible in court and NOT used against you as a result. Keep in mind that the police are only required to read your Miranda Warning after arrest and prior to interrogation. Thus, they are allowed to ask for things like your license, registration, and ID, but if the police arrest you and take you into custody for questioning, they must first read your Miranda Warning beforehand.
- Illegal search and seizure: Your Fourth Amendment rights protect you from unreasonable search and seizure, so if the police conduct an illegal warrantless search of your person or vehicle, for example, any evidence they obtain from that unlawful search could be thrown out and deemed inadmissible in court. Warrantless searches are legal under certain circumstances, although, we encourage you to reach out to our attorney if you have questions about when warrantless searches are allowed and we’d be happy to clarify.
- Inconsistent/unreliable testimony by police: If your DUI case goes to court and the police are called to testify against you, your lawyer should ensure the officer’s testimony aligns with their police report and other allegations. Believe it or not, some DUI cases get dismissed altogether if the judge doesn’t trust the officer’s accounts of your alleged offense. For example, if an officer wrote that your BAC was .08 but they testify that your BAC was twice the legal limit, your attorney may question the officer’s integrity and compel a judge or jury to reconsider your DUI charges.
The DUI defense strategies above are possible options for your case but should not be taken as legal advice under any circumstances. By speaking to our DUI attorney in Colorado Springs, you will get a better idea of your potential legal options and defense strategies for your individual case.
DUI & DWAI Consequences in Colorado
A DUI is an unclassified misdemeanor and can carry penalties of:
- Up to a year in jail and another year of jail suspended
- An additional year on probation
- Up to $1,500 in fines
- Between 24 and 120 hours of community service
- Required alcohol classes and therapy
- Loss of driver’s license
In fact, even someone with a first DUI must do a minimum of 10 days in jail if their BAC was above 0.20. In addition, a DUI conviction results in 12 points against your driver’s license, resulting in a suspension of your driving privileges.
Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol (DWAI) is a “lesser included” charge of DUI. Even if your level of impairment did not reach the level of DUI, you may still be found guilty of DWAI.
DWAI potential penalties are largely similar to DUI penalties but can carry only up to 180 days in jail and 8 points against your license.
Colorado DUI laws are tough. The best move you can make is to speak with an experienced attorney immediately.
Understanding the DUI Court Process in Colorado
If you have been charged with driving under the influence, our team can walk you through the criminal justice process so that you know what to expect in your case.
If you have been arrested on suspicion of DUI in Colorado, you have likely already been given a chemical test to determine your blood alcohol content, or BAC. By driving in the state, you have already consented to submit to such testing. Although you can refuse, this comes with certain automatic penalties, beginning with the suspension of your license for 12 months.
At the police station, you will be booked. This includes confirming your identity and seeing if you have any outstanding arrest warrants for other charges. The police may also choose to question you after reading your Miranda rights. Before releasing you, they will provide you with notice of when to appear in court for your arraignment.
If you have a BAC over the legal limit of 0.08, the police will seize your license and provide you with a notice of revocation. The notice will advise you that you have 7 days to request a hearing with the DMV. The notice of revocation may act as a temporary license until your license is returned to you or is formally suspended. If you fail to request a DMV hearing within this 7-day window, your license will automatically be suspended, even though you have not yet been convicted for DUI.
A DMV hearing refers to the administrative hearing held to determine whether your driver’s license should be suspended. At the hearing, you can challenge the validity of your DUI charges, such as by showing that the police lacked probable cause to stop you or that you did not have a BAC over the legal limit. You can also argue that you need to keep your license for practical reasons, such as maintaining employment or caring for family members.
If you succeed at the DMV hearing, you will get to keep your license. But if you are eventually convicted for DUI, your license will be suspended.
Arraignment refers to the first court hearing in your DUI criminal case. At the arraignment, the judge will advise you of the charges against you, explain the possible penalties, and advise you of your rights, such as the right to an attorney. The court will then ask you how you wish to plead to your charges. You can choose to plead guilty, “no contest” (you do not admit guilt, but you will not dispute the charges), or not guilty. If you plead guilty or no contest, the judge will impose a sentence at the same hearing.
You must appear for your arraignment or arrange to have counsel appear on your behalf, or the court will issue a warrant for your arrest.
At some point, the court will hold a pre-trial conference, where you or your attorney will have a chance to discuss your case with the prosecutor. The pre-trial conference is an opportunity to discuss a possible plea deal or to narrow down the issues for trial.
Before trial, your legal team or the prosecution can file various motions, including motions to admit certain evidence or, more frequently, motions to suppress evidence. By filing suppression motions, your attorney can seek to exclude state’s evidence from being presented at trial if it violates your constitutional rights or was obtained illegally.
If you cannot have your charges dismissed or if you don’t accept a plea deal, your case will eventually reach a trial. If your DUI charge is graded as a misdemeanor, you may have the right to request to have your case tried before a jury. Otherwise, the judge will determine the verdict in your case during what’s called a bench trial. Felony DUI charges must be tried before a jury.
If you are found guilty, the judge will impose a sentence. For most DUI cases, the sentence will be communicated to you immediately following the conclusion of a trial. Penalties may include license suspension, fines, community service, mandatory treatment, jail time, and probation, depending on the severity of the charges.
How Can an Attorney Help with Colorado DUI Penalties?
DUI and DWAI convictions often carry serious consequences. Hiring an experienced criminal and DUI defense attorney can help you:
Additionally, in some cases, DUIs and DWAIs can be beaten altogether. Our Colorado Springs DUI lawyers can help you better understand your unique situation and determine what your options are.
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Contact a Colorado Springs DUI Lawyer Today
Regardless of whether you are charged with a DUI or DWAI, an alcohol-related driving charge can have serious consequences. You should consult with an attorney experienced in defending DUI and DWAI charges immediately to help reduce the impact on your life, your finances, and your future.
Don’t leave your future to chance. Call Peakstone Law Group, LLC for a free consultation.