Department of Motor Vehicle and Criminal Appeals
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.
