Denver Attorney Tiftickjian to Present at National College for DUI Defense Summer Session

In July 2025, Attorney Jay Tiftickjian will present “A Shortcut to Nowhere: Why Partial DRE Exams Don’t Establish Probable Cause” to the lawyers of the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD). The Summer Session is the organization’s flagship seminar, attended by hundreds of DUI defense attorneys from across the country.

The National College for DUI Defense was formed in 1994. Its purpose is to educate and raise the bar for attorneys who defend clients of drunk and drugged driving cases. The NCDD also provides American Bar Association-approved specialization in the field. With over 1,000 members, the NCDD sponsors or co-sponsors numerous national seminars annually, including its original seminar at Harvard Law School. The organization submits amicus curie briefs to the United States Supreme Court in appeals involving important DUI-related legal and constitutional issues.

Attorney Tiftickjian is a faculty member of the NCDD and has presented on drugged driving in its national seminars in the past. Tiftickjian is frequently invited to lecture on cutting-edge DUI/DWI issues. His law firm, Tiftickjian Law Firm, is based in Denver and represents clients across Colorado. He also consults with attorneys in other states and assists in their representation of clients. Tiftickjian is the author of Colorado DUI Defense: The Law and Practice and is an author and chief editor of Medicolegal Aspects of Marijuana, which has multiple state-specific editions.

The presentation will focus on drug recognition examinations and the police officers who are labeled “experts” by their departments for attending a class called the drug recognition class and passing an exam with an 80% or better score based on that class. The DRE course includes practice on the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) and Vertical Gaze Nystagmus (VGN) tests, looking for lack of convergence in the eyes, as well as pupil size, and reaction to light. The course also includes interpretation of the examination results, allowing participants to review DRE reports and identify probable drug categories. It also teaches how to take suspects’ pulse, blood pressure, and body temperature. The goal of this drug-recognition exam is to find clinical indicators of impairment, and what classification of drug is causing the impairment. For example, the officer may determine that a suspect is under the influence of a CNS Stimulant and cannot safely operate a motor vehicle. Such clues an officer may cite are body tremors, dry mouth, and eyelid tremors.

The Summer Session seminar will be in Denver from June 16-18, 2025. Registration for NCDD Members is $995, and for non-members, it is $1,195. Registration includes a free NCDD membership through 2025.