Colorado Springs Criminal Attorney Blog

Last month, I posted about Colorado pressing forward with per se DUI limits for THC in blood. Essentially, this means that if you have a certain level of nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood, Colorado law will presume that you are impaired. Well, according to the Aspen Times, it looks like Colorado is one step closer to a 5 ng reality.

I can't really tell from the article what the minutia of the bill looks like--whether the "limit" will follow the Colorado Driving While Ability Impaired (DWAI) presumption or whether it will follow the Driving Under the Influence (DUI) scheme, along with the DUI and DMV consequences. And while this law would appear on it's face to not be targeting medical marijuana users, it's interesting to note that Colorado already has a driving under the influence of drugs charge that is built around the "totality" of the circumstances that of which the article speaks. It's also common to have testimony about THC levels in blood and what equals impairment or intoxication. It's also interesting to note that Colorado Springs Representative Waller has come out (along with El Paso County District Attorney Dan May) against MMJ.

So why the push for "limits"? It might just be that without them, DA's are having a hard time making a case based on actual driving behavior that the driver's ability to drive is compromised. And the cynic in me thinks our elected officials may be trying to get some "tough on crime" good press.

If you have been cited for a Colorado Springs DUI, make sure you call a good Colorado Springs criminal defense attorney to talk about your case.

Sometimes it ain't over even when the fat lady sings.

Way back when, at my old Colorado Springs criminal defense law firm, my partner had a DMV hearing for a Colorado Springs DUI in which his client took a blood test. The state tested the client's blood for alcohol and the BAC (blood alcohol content) was greater than .170. Uh oh. Why, "uh oh"? Because in Colorado, if your BAC is higher than .170, you have to install ignition interlock, enroll in and complete a Level II alcohol education and therapy program, and obtain SR-22 insurance for three years to get your license reinstated. ON A FIRST OFFENSE!

Anyway, Colorado Springs DUI law enforcement officers are required to collect a second vial of blood for the suspect to analyze. A good Colorado Springs DUI lawyer will always have the "second sample" of blood tested at an independent laboratory. Which is what we did for this particular client. Lo and behold, the client's second vial of blood came back at under .170 BAC, which should have exempted him from the mandatory ignition interlock and alcohol class requirements. This would have saved him literally thousands of dollars in out of pocket costs and future insurance costs. Except that the hearing officer at the DMV ruled that the state result (the higher one) was the one he was going to rely on.

Well, to make a long story short, I wrote an appeal that the hearing officer was required to use the lesser of the two results. The benefit of the doubt in a DUI or DMV case should go to the defendant. The District Court overturned the hearing officer and said we were correct, and that the DMV must use the lower result. The DMV got mad and appealed THAT decision up to the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court and, in essence, said "Hey, DMV, knock it off. You lost!" The mandate (directive) from the Court of Appeals came through today!! Yay, good job to me!

Moral of the story: sometimes it pays to appeal, but it ALWAYS pays hire a good Colorado Springs criminal defense attorney and to have your blood tested by an independent lab.

From the too weird to be true files: I recently had a client whose DUI case was dismissed. Was it due to my great lawyering? Did I find the legal loophole to save his license and freedom? Alas, no. It was because the police arrested him after assuming he was drunk and his blood test showed he wasn't. So much for those fancy roadside tests and the police officer's impressive DUI detection training and education. He saw someone he assumed was drunk, recorded only those observations that supported his assumption, arrested the client on CHRISTMAS EVE, and made him submit to a blood test--which was well under the legal limit. Of course, the blood wasn't tested until mid-January and the client couldn't bond out of jail until late Christmas day, but that's another story. Now why do I bring this up under a post entitled "sealing" criminal records, you ask? Because this was the SECOND TIME this same client was arrested for DUI and came back under the limit.

I'm not saying this happened, but I would bet (maybe not my house) that the arresting officer on the second case looked at my client's criminal history before he made the arrest, saw my client had been arrested for DUI before, and that bias was enough to induce him into making an erroneous assumption--even though the client was actually innocent of the first DUI charge as well. The criminal arrest history isn't "erased" because you are actually innocent, you must proactively petition a court to "seal" your record.

Colorado law allows you to seal your arrest record if you have been acquitted of a crime, your case has been dismissed, or you have been charged with certain drug offenses. Sealing an arrest record or a court case can have significant benefits. I have one client who was turned down for an apartment because he was once arrested for trespassing. Hmm, no real connection between that arrest and being a bad tenant, but the apartment won't rent to anyone arrested for a felony. He hired me, got his record sealed, and . . . the same apartment rented to him. Sealing can keep your arrest or court records from potential employers, schools, and financial institutions. If you have a previous case that has been dismissed, contact a Colorado Springs Criminal Defense Lawyerto see if you are eligible to seal your arrest record from public view.

This headline on the Colorado Springs Gazette website caught my eye. It's not everyday that someone gets killed for such a mundane bodily function! I am by no means making light of the horrible outcomes for everyone involved, but this story does serve to remind us how easy it is for innocuous situations to escalate out of control.

For instance, I was at a local grocery store yesterday and as I backed out of my space, a lady in a green Camry who was speeding through the parking lot (gotta get those groceries), slammed on her brakes, screeched to a halt, threw her arms up in frustration, and then sped away. Really Camry lady? You had to slow down for two seconds so you pitched a fit? Or, like last week when my best friend Matt called me from California to let me know he was assaulted while walking his dog on the beach because he had the nerve to ask a man to put his three pit bulls on a leash.

Anyway, everyday we see horrible manners and awful driving. Often those things become linked and a Road Rage ticket is issued--usually a reckless driving ticket coupled with an assault charge. Depending on your prior driving and criminal history, those charges could result in a loss of driver's license, fines, a restraining order, an anger control class (maybe it's needed), and a potential jail sentence. To avoid these situations, it's best to remember to be kind to others and use your good manners. But if you do inexplicably find yourself in a situation that exploded out of control, you should call a Colorado Springs criminal defense attorney to help you sort through the Road Rage scenario.