Colorado DUI Laws: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Offenses

Defending DUI Charges in Colorado

It is NOT against the law in Colorado to drink and drive. What is against the law is Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, Drugs, or Both under 42-4-1301(1)(a)(DUI). Also, against the law is Driving While Impaired by Alcohol, Drugs, or Both under 42-4-1301(1)(b)(DWAI).

It is easy to get arrested for DUI/DWAI. If the officer smells alcohol, you are going to get arrested. Also, if the officer smells marijuana, you will be arrested for Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID).

If you are reading this, you or a loved one may have been arrested and charged with DUI/DWAI/DUID. All three are charged under the same statute above.

Most people are scared, afraid, embarrassed, and ashamed after getting a DUI charge. Often, while they may admit they made a big mistake, they are surprised and sometimes outraged by how law enforcement treated them.

This is the time to hire the most skilled and experienced DUI Attorney you can afford. The best DUI Attorney can help you right now with the following:

Helping you the best Level II Education treatment provider.
Obtaining evidence now which could be lost if you wait.
Talking to you about the possibility of no jail.
Talking to you about your blood test options (if you gave blood).
Filing any needed motions for you (for example, a motion to travel).
Easing your mind by giving you sound information from experience.
Discussing what you can do now to help your defense such as obtaining some medical records or military records.
How to address any professional licensing issues with the DUI charge.

It is important to find the DUI Attorney best suited for you and your case.

Here are some questions to ask when interviewing your DUI Attorney:

What percentage of your law practice is defending DUI/DWAI/DUID? The higher the percentage; the better. Look for 70% or higher.
How long have you been defending these cases? More than 5 years.
When was the last time you took a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA – pronounced Nit-sa) training course? This is for the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST or Roadsides).

Law enforcement officers much re-take this training every year so your DUI Attorney should be at least as proficient as the officer.

FIRST OFFENSE

Colorado DUI Laws and the First Offense

Penalties. 42-4-1307; and 42-4-1301.3 Colorado Revised Statutes
There are the penalties in these statutes. A DUI Attorney can explain to you the nuances of each penalty. What happens often is the statute reads one way and in reality in court, there can be a better result. So, do NOT simply rely on what you read in the statute or on a website.

“First Offense” – this means, the first time you have been convicted in any court “anywhere in the world” of any alcohol related driving offense. Different states use different names of offenses and they could count against you. Also, a Court could use a prior conviction from a variety of offenses to aggravate your case. If you have a prior conviction for any of these: DUI, DWAI, DUID, DUI Per Se, Vehicular Homicide, Vehicular Assault, Aggravated Driving with a Revoked License or Driving Under Restraint under 42-2-138(1)(d); then your current alcohol charge could be your second or third, etc.

Penalties of the First Offense in Colorado DUI Laws

Some of the penalties for a First Offense are tied to your alcohol blood/breath level.

1. What was your alcohol best level?

If you submitted to an Intoxilyzer 9000 you will know your alcohol level after the test. If you submitted to a blood test then it will be a month or more before you know the result. If you refused testing, then you are classified as a “Refusal”.

No Mandatory Jail. If your test result is .1999 or below; no automatic jail.
Maybe Jail. If your test result was .20+ or higher; then you are subject to a statutory 10 days in jail (usually with Work Release) or if the Judge orders it, you can serve that 10 days on an ankle monitor (In Home Detention) and you can still go to work, school, and treatment.
Refusal: No statutory requirement for jail.

2. Accident: Some jurisdictions want Jail or IHD is there was an accident.

3. Useful Public Service: Also known as Community Service. This is statutory and requires the Judge to enter the number of hours usually from 24 to 48. This is like “volunteer work” in that you work at a Not-For-Profit or Non-Profit animal shelter, church, food bank, etc.

4. Probation: While on a first offense the Judge is not required under the statute to place you on probation upon your conviction, expect you will be put on probation. Nowadays most judges will put all DUI/DWAI/DUID on probation to insure compliance with all of the sentencing conditions. The Judge is ultimately responsible for you during your sentence and he or she allows Probation to oversee you for him/her. One thing that sometimes helps get a shorter probation is if you immediately start Level II Education and then go on into Therapy once you complete Level II Education (12 weeks). The Judge may see that you have almost completed all of your treatment and sees that you won’t need a long probationary sentence to complete the Therapy. Otherwise, Judges order probation anywhere from 9 months to 24 months.

Early Termination of Probation: Many people asked about this. Many judges want to give incentive so they allow you to petition them (write them a letter) upon completion of all your sentencing requirements asking to be let off supervised probation.

5. Monitored Sobriety: This has become quite a mainstay in DUI sentencing in Colorado. While Judges often order this as part of probation, even if the Judge does not order this as part of your sentence, your Probation Officer can and often will institute it for you. You call in each morning and if your “color” is “up” then you have to go to your designated place that day and provide a urine sample for drug and alcohol testing.

6. Treatment: The State of Colorado has developed treatment for people convicted of DUI/DWAI/DUID. The first phase of this is called Level II Education which lasts about 12 weeks. Then most people will have to continue on into Therapy on one of the tracts: Track A, Track B, Track C, or Track D.

While the above gives you information of consequences for a “first offender”, there is much more to be discussed about you and your situation with a DUI Attorney. I urge you to call and set up a meeting today with the Best DUI Attorney you find.

Second Offense Penalties 42-4-1307(5)

Colorado DUI Laws and the Second Offense

Penalties: A DUI Attorney can explain to you the nuances of each penalty. What happens often is the statute reads one way and in reality in court, there can be a better result. So, do NOT simply rely on what you read in the statute or on a website.

“Second Offense” – this means, the second time you have been convicted in any court “anywhere in the world” of any alcohol related driving offense. Different states use different names of offenses and they could count against you. Also, a Court could use a prior conviction from a variety of offenses to aggravate your case. If you have a prior conviction for any of these: DUI, DWAI, DUID, DUI Per Se, Vehicular Homicide, Vehicular Assault, Aggravated Driving with a Revoked License or Driving Under Restraint under 42-2-138(1)(d); then your current alcohol charge could be your third or more.

SECOND OFFENSE

1. Second Offense carries with it a statutory minimum mandatory jail sentence of ten (10) days.

If your first conviction was over 5 years ago from your current date of offense; then the DA can offer and the Judge can sentence you to 10 days of wearing a GPS ankle monitor (In Home Detention) where you can go to work, school, and treatment.
If your first conviction was inside of 5 years from the date of offense of your current charge, then you must serve the minimum mandatory sentence in real jail.
Warning though, it is not uncommon for some jurisdictions to increase the minimum mandatory time above the 10 days or sentence you to a mix of both real jail and then IHD.

2. What was your alcohol best level?
If you submitted to an Intoxilyzer 9000 you will know your alcohol level after the test. If you submitted to a blood test then it will be a month or more before you know the result. If you refused testing, then you are classified as a “Refusal”.

If your test result is .1999 or below; you will still get jail or IHD because it is your second conviction.
Jail/IHD. If your test result was .20+ or higher; then you are subject to a statutory 10 days in jail (usually with Work Release) or IHD. BUT this being your second conviction, some Judges sentence you to jail or IHD for it being your second offense and then more jail because your test result was over .20+.

3. Accident: Some jurisdictions want increased Jail or IHD is there was an accident.

4. Useful Public Service: Also known as Community Service. This is statutory and requires the Judge to enter the number of hours usually from 48 to 120. This is like “volunteer work” in that you work at a Not-For-Profit or Non-Profit animal shelter, church, food bank, etc.

5. Probation: While on a second offense the Judge is required under the statute to place you on probation for 24 months. Under the statute 42-4-1307(5)(IV) The Judge also has to order a “suspended” jail sentence of one year. The Judge is ordering a jail sentence of “one year” and suspending it meaning, you don’t serve it unless you violate probation and then the Judge can impose that one year in jail in addition to any other jail you may have served.

Early Termination of Probation: Many people ask about this. Many judges want to give an incentive to complete the sentencing requirements so they allow you to petition the judge (write them a letter) upon completion of all your requirements. You are asking to be taken off supervised probation. It is up to the individual judge whether that judge is inclined to terminate early someone on 24 month probation for a second offense.

7. Victim Impact Panel (MADD Panel): While attendance at a MADD Panel is not statutory, most Judges nowadays order it. It is a one-time event where you go and listen to victims of drunk drivers tell you of the devastation they suffered because of a drunk driver.

While the above gives you information of consequences for a “second offender”, there is much more to be discussed about you and your situation with a DUI Attorney. I urge you to call and set up a meeting today with the Best DUI Attorney you find.

Third Offense Penalties 42-4-1307(5)

Colorado DUI Laws and the Third Offense

“Third Offense” – this means, the third time you have been convicted in any court “anywhere in the world” of any alcohol related driving offense. Different states use different names of offenses and they could count against you. Also, a Court could use a prior conviction from a variety of offenses to aggravate your case. If you have a prior conviction for any of these: DUI, DWAI, DUID, DUI Per Se, Vehicular Homicide, Vehicular Assault, Aggravated Driving with a Revoked License or Driving Under Restraint under 42-2-138(1)(d); then your current alcohol charge could be your third or more.

JAIL.

Third Offense carries with it a statutory minimum mandatory jail sentence of sixty (60) days. What has happened though is that once the Colorado legislature voted to make a 4^th DUI conviction a felony offense, the sentences for 3^rd offenses became more aggravated. So, depending on who your Judge is and who your prosecutors are, you may get a longer jail sentence and may also get an In Home Detention sentence tacked on after you serve the active jail sentence.
You will read about treatment programs which the jail sponsors. For example in Arapahoe County they have the MOP Program (Multiple Offender Program). Be careful about jumping into participating in these programs as you are committing to submit yourself to their rules and regulations which may end up being more involved than you realized at the onset.
Work Release. Usually you can get work release authorized by the Judge and then it is up to the Sheriff if you qualify for his/her jail. Usually this is not a problem. Work Release means that you sleep at the jail and leave the jail and go to work at your job. Usually jails can accommodate swing schedules and other work requirements.

BrAC and BAC.

If your test result is .1999 or below; you will still get jail because it is your third conviction.
Jail/IHD. If your test result was .20+ or higher; then you are subject to a statutory 10 days in jail (usually with Work Release). BUT this being your third conviction, some Judges sentence you to jail for it being your third offense and then more jail or IHD because your test result was over .20+.

Accidents.

Some jurisdictions want increased Jail or IHD is there was an accident.

Useful Public Service.

Also known as Community Service. This is statutory and requires the Judge to enter the number of hours usually from 48 to 120. This is like “volunteer work” in that you work at a Not-For-Profit or Non-Profit animal shelter, church, food bank, etc.

Probation.

While on a third offense the Judge is required under the statute to place you on probation for 24 months. Under the statute 42-4-1307(5)(IV) The Judge also has to order a “suspended” jail sentence of one year. The Judge is ordering a jail sentence of “one year” and suspending it meaning, you don’t serve it unless you violate probation and then the Judge can impose that one year in jail in addition to any other jail you may have served.

Early Termination of Probation. Many judges want to give an incentive to a Defendant to complete the sentencing requirements. So some judges allow you to petition them (write them a letter) upon completion of all your requirements. You are asking to be taken off supervised probation. It is up to the individual judge whether that judge is inclined to give early termination to someone on probation for a third offense.

Monitored Sobriety.

This has become quite a mainstay in DUI sentencing in Colorado. While Judges often order this as part of probation, even if the Judge does not order this as part of your sentence, your Probation Officer can and often will institute it for you. You call in each morning and if your “color” is “up” then you have to go to your designated place that day and provide a urine sample for drug and alcohol testing.

Treatment.

The State of Colorado has developed treatment for people convicted of DUI/DWAI/DUID. The first phase of this is called Level II Education which lasts about 12 weeks. Then most people will have to continue on into Therapy on one of the tracts: Track A, Track B, Track C, or Track D. If you are facing a 3^rd DUI conviction then you more than likely will be looking at Track “D” (24 hours of education and 86 hours of therapy). Probation oversees your treatment.

Victim Impact Panel (MADD Panel).

While attendance at a MADD Panel is not statutory, most judges nowadays order it. It is a one time event where you go and listen to victims of drunk drivers tell you of the devastation they suffered because of a drunk driver.

While the above gives you information of consequences for a “third offender”, there is much more to be discussed about you and your situation with a DUI Attorney. I urge you to call and set up a meeting today with the Best DUI Attorney you find.