Posts Tagged ‘DUI’

Colorado DUI enforcement for New Year’s Eve

Friday, December 31st, 2010

The Colorado State Patrol and 71 other law enforcement agencies across the state have cemented plans to increase DUI enforcement over the New Year’s weekend, but would-be partiers can plan ahead as well by making arrangements for designated drivers or by ringing in 2011 at local  restaurants and bars that provide patrons with free $10 cab vouchers.

“You can still have a good time with friends and family, but take responsibility for yourself to be safe and line up a sober ride if you’re celebrating with alcohol,” advises James Wolfinbarger, chief of the Colorado State Patrol.  “If you don’t plan ahead, that’s when bad situations arise and you can end up behind bars and worse.”

The Colorado Department of Transportation has partnered with MillerCoors to encourage responsible decisions and provide useful tools for celebrants to get home safely. The beer company is offering free taxi vouchers at participating restaurants and bars.  Cab information and locations where people can get the free vouchers can be found at www.planaheadcolorado.com.

One thing celebrants can count on for sure this coming weekend is that police officers will be out in force looking for people who didn’t plan ahead and who decided to risk it all by drinking and driving. Following is a list of Colorado law enforcement agencies and their enforcement plans for the New Year’s weekend.

Saturation Patrols:

Adams County Sheriff’s Office, December 30 – January 3

Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, December 30 – January 3

Castle Rock Police Department, December 30 – January 3

Colorado Springs Police Department, December 30 – January 3

CSP/Castle Rock, December 30 – January 2

CSP/Adams County, December 30 – January 2

El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, December 30 – January 1

Fort Collins Police Department, December 30 – January 2

Greenwood Village Police Department, December 30 – January 1

Lakewood Police Department, December 30 – January 3

Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, December 30 – January 2

Increased Patrols:

Auraria Campus Police Department, December 30 – January 3

Aurora Police Department, December 30 – January 4

Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, December 30 – January 1

Boulder Police Department, December 30 – January 1

Brighton Police Department, December 30 – January 3

CSP/Colorado Springs, December 30 – January 3

CSP/Broomfield, December 30 – January 3

Denver Police Department, December 30 – January 3

Edgewater Police Department, December 30 – January 3

Longmont Police Department, December 30 – January 3

Northglenn Police Department, December 30 – January 3

Wheat Ridge Police Department, December 30 – January 1

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Going to Pot

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Colorado legislators are expected to propose toking-and-driving bill

Colorado lawmakers are considering presenting a proposal to the legislature early next year that, if passed, would set a “per se” standard for persons driving under the influence of marijuana. In other words, they are looking to set a level at which a driver will automatically be presumed to be driving impaired.

The state’s driving under the influence (DUI) laws already prohibit a person from operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or both.  But there are two separate DUI charges — DUI and per se DUI. The DUI law makes illegal for a person to be “substantially incapable” of safely operating a vehicle due to the consumption of alcohol or drugs.  This law does not have a blood-alcohol level requirement, and a person can be convicted of DUI without a blood-alcohol test number as evidence.

Per se DUI, on the other hand, presumes that it is a crime to drive a vehicle with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood or 210 liters of breath within two hours of operating a vehicle.  A prosecutor does not have to prove that the driver was “substantially incapable” of safely operating a vehicle.

The lawmakers’ intention is to establish a similar threshold for the amount of THC (the active component of marijuana) in the blood. It is expected that they will propose a limit of 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. Anyone with a blood-THC level over 5 would be considered to be too high to drive.

Critics of the proposal contend that a per se law does not take into account people’s tolerance levels. Attorney Sean McAllister told the Denver Post he is concerned that such a law could unfairly affect medical-marijuana patients, who may have high THC levels in their blood without being impaired.

Rep. Claire Levy (D-Boulder), who sponsored tough new DUI laws that went in effect July 1, is expected to be one of the sponsors of the THC proposal.

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No Felony DUI in Colorado

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

On February 8, 2010, the Colorado House Judiciary Committee defeated a bill that would have made a felony DUI law in Colorado.  Proposed House Bill 1184 would have created a Class 6 felony for defendants with two prior DUI convictions. This bill was supported by the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Under current Colorado DUI law, a person convicted of a DUI or DWAI with a prior alcohol offense faces up to a year in the county jail. The maximum sentence of one year applies despite the amount of priors the person has on his or her record.  This defeated bill would have presented a prison sentence to a third time DUI offender of up to 18 months, which is the maximum presumptive range for a Class 6 Felony in Colorado.

Colorado is one of only four states that does not have a felony DUI charge.

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Mandatory Jail in Colorado for Second DUI Proposal Approved

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

On February 5, 2010, a Colorado criminal justice commission, consisting of judges, district attorneys and defense attorneys,  voted on and approved a legislative proposal requiring jail for repeat DUI offenders in Colorado.  This proposal would require a judge to sentence a person convicted of DUI or DWAI in Colorado to incarceration if he or she has a prior alcohol related driving offense.  As the law currently is written, a person convicted of a second DUI or DWAI must be sentenced to incarceration, but a judge in Colorado may authorize an ankle bracelet with home confinement for the duration of that sentence.  This proposal takes away a Colorado judge’s discretion to sentence a repeat DUI offender in-home detention or electronic home monitoring upon a second or subsequent DUI or DWAI conviction.

This bill, sponsored by Representative Claire Levy, a Boulder Democrat, comes on the heels of the recent criticism in the Denver Post regarding sentences that judges in Adams, Denver and Arapahoe Counties have given to multiple DUI offenders.  This proposal will be presented to the state legislature and will likely be new Colorado law in the coming year.

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DUI Blood Test Results Challenged in Colorado Springs

Wednesday, December 30th, 2009

Hundreds of DUI blood alcohol tests are being resubmitted for further testing after the Colorado Springs Metro Crime Lab’s tests were called into question.  The El Paso district Attorney’s office has resubmitted over 1,000 blood samples for retesting in pending DUI cases since these discrepancies were found.

So far, no cause for the blood test discrepancies has been offered, but it has been reported the district attorney’s office and Colorado Bureau of Investigation are conducting investigations.

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New Years Eve, 2010 DUI Checkpoints in Colorado

Monday, December 28th, 2009

If you are out driving in Colorado during the season, expect to be contacted by a police officer working DUI patrol. During the holiday season, DUI enforcement and DUI checkpoints in Colorado are intensified. The last thing someone wants to ring in the New Year with is a DUI arrest, but such arrests in Colorado during New Years Eve increase every year. New Years Eve, 2010 is not expected to be any different.

Unfortunately, there will be hundreds of drunk drivers on the roads to bring in 2010. Last year, police in Colorado made 569 DUI arrests in a week span between December 30, 2008 and January 5, 2009, according to CDOT’s website. This number was noticeably larger than the DUI arrest statistics for 2008. DUI enforcement in Colorado for January 1, 2010 will be just as intense, if not more so.

The increase in DUI enforcement in Colorado is based largely on tragic fatalities and editorials in the local media and on television in 2009. The increased DUI enforcement includes additional officers patrolling traffic, and an increase of roadside DUI checkpoints at various locations around the state.

The best advice anyone can adhere to for a safe New Year’s Eve is to make alternate arrangements for transportation, and to avoid putting oneself in a dubious situation, recommends Denver DUI attorney Jay Tiftickjian. “Once alcohol is in your system, your decision making ability is impaired. Therefore, it is always best to make your transportation arrangements prior to going out for the night.”

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Mandatory Jail in Colorado for Second DUI not Recommended

Monday, December 14th, 2009

A state commission created by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter deliberated and voted not to recommend a change in Colorado’s DUI law on December 11, 2009 that would have made incarceration mandatory for second DUI offenders. The Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice rejected a proposal requiring repeat offenders to be sentenced to at least 30 days for a second alcohol conviction and at least 60 days for a third offense, and in-home detention or alternative sentencing options would not be available to sentencing judges.

Under current Colorado DUI law, a second DUI or DWAI offense requires a mandatory jail sentence, but the judge has the option of imposing this sentence on electronic home monitoring, with work release, or through other arrangements.

In Colorado, unless there are aggravating facts such as an accident resulting in serious injury or death, a DUI is not a felony, and the maximum sentence is up to one year in a county jail. Other states have increased penalties for DUI offenses in recent years, including creating a felony for second offenses. For example, New York classifies a second DUI conviction within 10 years as a Class E felony.

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Colorado Participates in Driver’s License Compact

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

Colorado is one of 45 states that participate in the Driver’s License Compact.  The Driver’s License Compact is an agreement between states to report court convictions and administrative suspensions to the driver’s home state.   A DUI or DWAI conviction in Colorado will likely have consequences to an out of state driver’s license.

Under the Driver’s License Compact, the home state of the driver is required to take action against a driver’s license as if the offense occurred in the driver’s home state.   Therefore, it is difficult to avoid a driver’s license revocation if convicted for an alcohol related driving offense in another state.  Colorado is required to report a DUI or DWAI conviction to another state if the driver had an out of state driver’s license.  Even administrative DMV suspensions are required to be entered and reported to the home state.

The National Driver Register is the centralized computer database most states use to report convictions or revocations.  This database contains information about individuals who have been revoked, suspended, or convicted of a serious traffic offense such as DUI, DWI, and DWAI.  If there is a red flag in this database, the offender will have an action taken against their license in their home state or will be denied if applying for a license.

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