DUI Colorado Law

Judge gets special DUI treatment

Tuesday, January 6th 2009 at 2:15 pm

Imagine this, you're out drinking all night and you know you've had one too many, but you decide to hop in your car and drive home anyway. On your way you find a construction zone and start dangerously swerving through it. You then proceed to run head-on into a police car, destroying the car and injuring the police officer.

You then get out of your car and start yelling racist remarks at the police officer who arrests you for DUI. Your day in court arrives, and the judge doesn't send you to jail, doesn't fine you, and only required you to take a simple alcohol education program. After 1 year, your record is totally clean. Sound too good to be true? Not if you're a judge.

This happened to Judge E. Curtissa Cofield back in October. She was very drunk, ran into a police car and never took responsibility for her actions. The judge in her case, Judge William Bright Jr., obviously doesn't think driving while drunk and injuring an officer of the law is that serious of an offense. That, or this is a classic case of judges looking out for eachother. But when your job is to enforce the law, giving breaks like this to fellow judges does nothing but hurt the judicial system.

Cofield referred to a black state police sergeant who responded to the scene as "Negro Washington." Asked if she was suffering from an ailment, she said she had "Negro-itis".

What's worse is she is still a judge, and hasn't been suspended or even questioned about her DUI. And considering judges like to hand out long, tough sentences for DUI charges to regular citizens, it seems they like to play nice with eachother.

If you think I'm over-reacting, ask yourself this: What would your sentence be for driving drunk, running into a police car and injuring an officer of the law while yelling racist slurs as the police officer?

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DUI court process

Tuesday, January 6th 2009 at 12:03 pm

When the time comes to go through a criminal prosecution for Driving Under the Influence it would be a very good asset if you had a crystal clear understanding of the DUI court process. If you know what is or might be heading your way during the process it will greatly reduce the amount of distress and possible sleepless nights depending on your personality and how you deal with certain challenges and obstacles that life throws at you.

If you do your research on the process it will help you relax and feel comfortable when fighting a tough DUI charge. Although each Court System in the United States of America varies from state to state its always good to know at least a little bit of on how the general DUI prosecution charge process is handled.

Below is a quick summary with information on basic areas of a DUI charge case.

Firstly it starts with the Arraignment which is is the first time on the trial that you attend Court and it is where you are formally told what exactly you have done and the charges that are being held against you.

In the most common cases of DUI you may already know what the charges are before you even have to actually attend the Courtroom. Although, there can sometimes be additional charges that you may be unaware of for example possible infractions for dangerous driving or additional criminal charges which the prosecution will file after your arrest for a DUI offense.

It then proceeds with what is called a Pre-Trial Hearing. This is a hearing which will take place in the Court room and formally in front of a Judge. The judges purpose is to make sure that no case gets wrongly dealt with, they make sure that the case is vigorously reviewed in a systematic law abiding way. This is where the Judge will want to know all the information about the case and they will ask you the two famous courtroom words which are if you are guilty or not guilty.

Then it moves onto what's called motions. Motions are written down legal documents which are arguments on why exactly evidence is in your favor, and why you actually have some space to move in the case for example your arguments on why it was possibly not your fault you where driving under the influence although you better have a good lawyer if you want to defend your self against such a claim.

We then move onto the trials. This is where the judge decides exactly what the decision is. This is followed by a conclusion so its good to be mentally prepared for the conclusion against you in a DUI prosecution case.

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Police DUI checkpoints and laws

Monday, January 5th 2009 at 7:52 pm

Police DUI checkpoints are something that drivers should be aware of as we are seeing them more often. It is a systematic stop for vehicles this means the police can't use a checkpoint as a way of just stopping who they want. They can't in any way arbitrarily or just randomly stop a vehicle and pull it over in a checkpoint. It is a systematic stop in which everybody who goes through the checkpoint system's vehicle is stopped and obviously investigated with suspicion the driver has been driving under the influence of alcohol.

The traffic safety checkpoints are set up usually across busy cities where the police have convicted the most drivers who have been drinking alcohol. The emphasis of the checkpoints are to detect DUI violators which historically rise during the time of year near to the holiday season towards the end of the year for the Christmas period. When a driver is stopped at one of these DUI checkpoints, the driver will be asked politely for his or hers driver’s license, a valid proof of insurance for the car which they have been pulled over in and a current valid vehicle tag registration.

Police officers will usually be ready at both announced and unannounced locations around a city in what is a huge effort to reduce the horrific DUI related traffic accidents and fatalities which can cause a lot of knock on effects for the family's of those involved.

DUI roadblocks are actually temporary installations used by law enforcement agency's such as highway patrol officers and police officers to not only catch out the drivers who are under the influence of alcohol but to help to make the road a safer place to drive a car. This approach of policing the highway and the roads which citizens use as a way of getting from one location to the next was modeled off the back of the success of the roadside safety checks and license and the registration inspections which where very successful operations.

These checkpoints are usually set up late either at night or very early in the morning, which is actually when the highest percentage of drunk drivers is on the road usually traveling back from a party or some sort of social event where they have been consuming alcoholic beverages.

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How DUI school can help turn your life around

Monday, January 5th 2009 at 1:08 pm

If you're convicted of an offense involving driving a vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol you do have the opportunity of attending a rehabilitation course. Completion of this course which depending on what country or state you offended in can lead to different options, in most cases it can not just offer you a reduction of up to a quarter of the period of disqualification it can actually help you get your life sorted out.

Being convicted of the crime of DUI can be a shamefully bad thing for most people convicted, sometimes it can even course you to loose your job and can sometimes end up with family domestic issues as well as insurance fee's going up or even being refused car insurance.

The rehabilitation course is not intended to punish the person further, it is simply a way of helping them. You will already have possibly been disqualified and probably fined for your offence. The purpose mainly of the DUI schools is to teach the person about the effects of alcohol consumption and the dangers of driving whilst under the influence.

Usually again depending on where the DUI school is depending on country or American state the topics and range of issues will be covered, including information about alcohol and its effect on the body as well as the effect of alcohol consumption on performance of driving and particularly driving behavior.

The content of courses run by different organizations may vary but is likely to involve talking sessions known as group discussion as well as role play situations and most likely assessments of personal drinking habits and sometimes presentations by ex-alcoholics, policemen, lawyers or doctors.

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Driving drunk? Don't call the cops

Saturday, January 3rd 2009 at 1:49 pm

This story has to be one for the record books. On New Years eve, a 17 year old girl from Bismarck decided to call 911 from her cellphone, and tell the police she was driving drunk. The police chief is quoted as saying "I've never heard of such a thing happening, and neither has anyone here". It is a bit out of the ordinary, but certain life circumstances lead to this bizarre phone call.

When she called 911, she pulled her car over and told the police where she was. The police found her car shortly after she called 911. She was given a sobriety test and, of course, she failed it. The cops arrested her for DUI and failing to have control of her car while intoxicated.

Her call was most likely a plea for help, because once the police arrived the girl had some things to tell them. She said her life was out of control, and she has spend the majority of the previous two weeks drinking. Not exactly a great thing for an underage 17 year old to admit to the police, but her honesty did pay off.

She was not charged with driving under the influence because her keys were in her purse and her car was parked when the police found her. She did admit she had been driving around for a few hours before she called 911. She was arrested and released to her parents, but not charged with DUI.

This is obviously a touchy case. The DA could easily charge her with DUI if they wanted to, but her age and "responsibility" were factored in. Of course it's not responsible to drive around drunk, but finding help for her problem is. Hopefully she will get her life in order and learn from her mistake this New Years.

Written by and Copyright Colorado DUI Laws

Charles Barkley arrested for DUI in Arizona

Friday, January 2nd 2009 at 7:34 pm

It seems Charles Barkley was having a little too much fun on New Years eve this year. An undercover police officer was sitting at a 4-way stop at 1:30am. Charles came to the intersection, and rolled through at 10 miles per hours, without stopping. The officer flagged him down, then things got interesting.

When the police officer asked Charles if he had been drinking he replied "Yes I've had a couple. I could give you a BS answer but I didn't". The cop proceeded to give Charles a breath test and a blood test to get his blood alcohol level.

The arresting officer asked Charles Barkley why he didn't stop as the stop sign. Charles said he said "You want the truth? I was gonna drive around the corner and get a blow job. I was in a hurry to pick up a girl who gave me a blow job one week earlier that was the best of my life".

Charles proceeded to "bribe" the police officer by saying "I'll tattoo your name on my ass if it would get me out of the DUI charge". Even though this made me laugh, you should learn from his mistakes and don't talk to the police if you've been drinking and driving.

Written by and Copyright Colorado DUI Laws

Heather Locklear has her DUI dismissed

Friday, January 2nd 2009 at 7:19 pm

Just another great reason why you need to find a good DUI lawyer when you're arrested for drunk driving. She was arrested in September 2008 in Santa Barbara for driving while taking prescription drugs. Alcohol isn't the only thing that can get you a DUI charge, and it's important for DUI lawyers to understand that.

Her lawyer kept her out of jail by having Heather plead no contest to reckless driving which is a misdemeanor. She will be on probation for 3 years, pay a fine of $700 and take a drug education class. Even though alcohol wasn't involved, that's a pretty good deal for a DUI charge.

So remember that DUI stands for "Driving under the influence of ...", it can be alcohol, prescription drugs, illegal drugs, any type of drug that impairs your driving ability. And the charges are the same for a DUI, it doesn't matter what drug was in your system.

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Stay silent during your DUI arrest

Friday, January 2nd 2009 at 12:29 pm

Alcohol can make people do crazy things that they wouldn't consider doing if they were sober. It can make you feel like Superman, like nothing bad can happen to you. It will also make you more aggressive and talkative that usual. All these things can lead to disaster if you get pulled over by the police for drunk driving. I never condone drunk driving (call a cab or a friend to get home), but if you do find yourself being arrested for DUI there are some things you should do, and not do.

First and foremost, keep your mouth shut. I'm sure you think you can talk yourself out of this situation, but you can't. And the things you say to the police officer can and will be used against you in court. For example, you try to tell the cop "I only had one beer" so he'll let you go. Not only will he not let you go, you also just admitted to breaking the law by driving with alcohol in your system.

The only thing you're required to tell a police officer is your name and address, and a valid ID can take care of that information. If the police officer keeps asking you questions, keep replying with "No comment" or "I'm choosing to remain silent". I'm sure you've heard "you have the right to remain silent", I suggest you use this right and don't say anything to the police officer.

"Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law". The keyword there is against you. Pretend you tell a cop you only had one beer, but you smell like alcohol because you're friend spilled his drink on you. In court, the police officer will testify "He admitted to drinking at least one beer, but he smelled like hard alcohol too". The officer has no obligation to use your words to help you in court, just hurt you.

Even if you're totally sober and haven't had a drink in a month, trying to talk your way out of a situation like this just won't work. Let them arrest you and then plead your case in court. If you are arrested while you're really sober, you might have some money coming your way courtesy of the state, so stay calm and wait for your court date.

There's no point trying to plead your case to police officers. They aren't the judge or jury, they just get paid to enforce the law. You will have plenty of time in court to tell your side of the story, with your DUI lawyer. But if you admit to breaking the law to the police officer, your chances in court can be ruined. Here's a good example.

If you are arrested for a DUI, but you don't say a word to the police. A week later, the arresting officer is transferred to a new state. Because you never admitted to breaking the law, the case might be dismissed. But if you told the cop you "only had one beer", it doesn't matter what happens to the arresting officer, your statement is public and the DA can proceed with the DUI charges against you.

The bottom line is, just stay silent until you talk to a lawyer. Staying silent will never hurt you, and it is more likely to help you in the long run. Don't let the alcohol make you think you can get out of this dreaded situation by talking nicely or using your charm on the police officers, because it will not work. If the police suspect you of breaking the law, you will be arrested no matter what you say (or don't say), so play it safe and stay silent.

Written by and Copyright Colorado DUI Laws

Find a good DUI attorney or lawyer

Thursday, January 1st 2009 at 7:09 pm

Let me start by saying Happy New Year to everybody. If you're reading this, you probably had a little too much fun last night, and it may have resulted in being arrested for DUI. The first thing you should do is make sure your license doesn't automatically get suspended because it's nice having a license, you know? The next thing you need to do is find a great lawyer to help you through your DUI charge.

There are a few things to consider when you're trying to find a great attorney. First, you should try to find an attorney that focuses primarily (or only) on DUI cases. You don't want your lawyer to spread himself too thin and miss something that could help your case. If you find a lawyer that only does DUI cases he will be much more able to defend you in court. One such lawyer is Jim Forslund from The Colorado DUI Defense Office.

You should never accept the public defender unless you absolutely have to... it's better than representing yourself (unless you're a lawyer). A public defender is somebody just out of law school who has to take on tons of cases, and therefore will give your case very little time or consideration. Remember, a DUI charge can end up costing more than $10,000, and if staying out of jail is priceless to you, get a good DUI lawyer and ditch the public defender.

Colorado has some of the more severe DUI penalties too. For example, if you're BAC is high enough, you can be required to serve a jail sentence, even if it's your first DUI. Your lawyer can help keep you out of jail, assuming he knows what he's doing. I have a friend who has been arrested for DUI three times, and he was only sentenced to house arrest, no jail time. That should be proof enough that a good lawyer makes a difference in your life.

When you're looking for a lawyer to help you, make a list of 10 or so, and give them a call. Ask them if they specialize in DUI cases (this is important). If they do, ask how many DUI lawyers they have at their firm. The more lawyers the better, because if one person misses something, his partner might catch it. And when the stakes are this high, it's very important to choose the right defendant. You can also ask them what their track record is like for similar DUI cases. Try to get as much information as possible before making your decision.

Next, look the company up online and see what other people had to say about them. You might find mad clients who didn't like this lawyer for whatever reason. You could find out these attorneys are the best in the world and you need to hire them now. Just don't assume anything, do the research and get the facts.

It's also good to learn as much as possible about DUI laws. Of course you won't be defending yourself, but that doesn't mean you have to be clueless about the process or the laws. Maybe you forget to tell your lawyer something, then you discover that something can get your DUI charge dismissed. This whole website is filled with DUI information that you need to know, so go ahead and browse around and click the links below for more DUI law information.

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Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain arrested for DUI

Sunday, October 19th 2008 at 10:51 am

New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence, speeding and having an open container of alcohol in his 2006 BMW.

He was given a Breathalyzer test on the spot and was moved to the Cornhusker Place, a detox center in Lincoln where all the drunk drivers have an overnight visit. Another Breathalyzer test was administered there, but results are as of yet to be released. A call made to Joba's father, Harlan Chamberlain, resulted in Pops saying "no comment".

Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman Deborah Collins said Chamberlain was stopped for speeding on U.S. 77 near his hometown of Lincoln at about 1 a.m. Saturday.

Collins said Chamberlain was taken to the Cornhusker Place Detox in Lincoln, which she said is the normal protocol. Chamberlain was lodged at the center on charges of driving under the influence, having an open container of alcohol and speeding. Collins said the county attorney likely would file formal charges Monday.

Chamberlain, 23, just completed his second season in the majors with the Yankees, compiling a 4-3 record with a 2.60 earned run average in 42 games, including 12 starts. He has been used as both a set-up man and a starter, and team chairman Hank Steinbrenner said recently that the team would probably use him as a starter in 2009.

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