If you live in Colorado, have been vacationing in Colorado, visiting on business, or just passing through on one of the interstates to another destination, and you are stopped and arrested on a DWI (driving while intoxicated) or DUI (driving under the influence) charge, you need to contact an experienced lawyer in the State of Colorado.

The laws governing DWI and DUI charges and penalties are constantly changing, and it is important that you find a licensed Colorado lawyer to help you plead your case to the court system. Each state has different rules, procedures, and stipulations regarding DUI cases. Colorado also has a charge termed DWAI (driving while ability impaired).

It is considered a misdemeanor in Colorado to drive while intoxicated and/or impaired from alcohol or drugs. Penalties could range from:

• First DUI – jail time anywhere from 5 days to 1 year; fines from $300 to $1,000; community service from 48 to 96 hours
• First DWAI – jail time anywhere from 2 days to 180 days; fines from $100 to $500; community service from 24 to 48 hours
• Second DUI – jail time anywhere from 90 days to 1 year; fines from $500 to $1,500; community service from 60 to 120 hours
• Second DWAI – jail time anywhere from 45 days to 1 year; fines from $300 to $1,000; community service from 48 to 96 hours

Possible avenues a Colorado lawyer could take to win your DUI case include pointing out the following in court:

• The officer who stopped you has to have had a valid reason for doing so (i.e., reasonable cause to believe a traffic law has been broken or another violation has occurred).
• One of the reasons the officer had for stopping you cannot be because you were weaving inside lanes, as that is not illegal in Colorado.
• You cannot be stopped because someone had allegedly called in, anonymously, to report drunken or erratic behavior.
• Field sobriety testing has been ruled as inaccurate in Colorado and cannot be relied upon to prove guilt.
• Non-standard tests, such as touching your finger to your nose, reciting the alphabet, or counting backgrounds, are not recognized as any kind of official testing procedure.
• Breath tests are considered inaccurate in Colorado.
• Video-taping procedures, both in the squad car and booking room, can show the circumstances surrounding your condition at the time in a different light.
• You are guaranteed a speedy trial (within a certain timeframe, depending on the state) and if you are not given a trial in that set amount of time, your case may be dismissed.
• Blood tests have been designated as invalid many times in Colorado because of inexact rules or regulations governing the test.
• Hospital blood tests have been ruled inaccurate in Colorado.
• Breath-testers have been ruled in Colorado many times to not be accurate because of faulty equipment, inexperienced personnel handling the tests, and/or a particular device not having been approved for use in the State of Colorado.

The above list describes a few methods your knowledgeable Colorado lawyer may be able to use to have your DUI case dismissed or at the very least have the charges lessened.

Colorado has a set legal limit of 0.08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Colorado also has a lower limit of 0.05 BAC which they call a DWAI offense. A person could be convicted on a drunk-driving charge if this 0.05 BAC level is found in your system at the time you are stopped. To the average person, this 0.05 BAC level could equate to two pint beers.

As pertaining to drunk-driving laws, the word “vehicle” has a definition broader than just a “motor vehicle.” A vehicle is anything that can carry passengers or goods. A “motor vehicle” is powered by an engine or a motor. Either term includes cars, trucks, and can even include motorboats. Most laws have a division relating to whether a vehicle is operable or inoperable. Inoperable vehicles cannot move while operable vehicles are able to move, just may not be moving at that moment in time.