How to Beat a Colorado DUI

Wed, 21 July, 2010

Ok, so you’ve been issued a ticket in Colorado for Driving Under the Influence (“DUI”) or Driving While Ability Impaired (“DWAI”).  Take a deep breath; it’s not the end of the world.  In fact, there may be a way to beat your case entirely.

For example, the police must have had a valid reason to stop you or contact you in the first place.  If they did not, the DUI case is going nowhere.

Police are not allowed to just stop any car driving down the road.  They must have a legitimate reason to pull you over or to contact you.

It is also possible to get the chemical test thrown out of court.  Then the prosecutor is left with no test results to use against you and a big hole in his evidence.  Breathalyzers have a strict set of operation rules, and the operator of the Breathalyzer may invalidate the test by not following the rules.  In addition, the Breathalyzer must be properly maintained and operating correctly.

The procedures for blood testing also must be followed to obtain a legal test.  You will always want to retest the second blood sample as well.  Sometimes the retest result comes in under the legal limit or varies so much from the original test that the original test is deemed invalid.

Jurisdiction is a fancy word that means the geographic area a certain police officer is allowed to patrol and conduct police activities.  You will want to double check that the officer who gave you a ticket had jurisdiction to do so.  If not, you can beat your DUI.

Even in our high tech world of advanced communications, there are still certain hearings where police officers need to be physically present to give their testimony.  And in some cases, no cop equals no DUI.  Yeah, it’s a strange technicality, but this strategy may be appropriate for your case.

Now, how do you exploit these strategies?  Hire a good, local DUI attorney.  You are looking for someone who knows everything there is to know about these cases.  You also want to hire someone who practices exclusively in the geographical area where you got your ticket.  A local attorney knows the judges, prosecutors, juries, and, most importantly, the little tricks specific to that city to get you the best result possible.

Do not hire someone who is making promises or guarantees, as tempting as it may be.  That person is just trying to get your money by telling you what you want to hear when he or she has no way of knowing what will happen to your case without first looking at all the police reports, scouring the chemical test reports, negotiating with the prosecutor, etc.

Finally, if you cannot afford an attorney, apply for representation at the public defender’s office.  Do not try to represent yourself, or you will have a fool for a client.