Summer Strikeout. Saturation Saturday. The Heat Is On. Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.
The names are different, but the intent is the same.
And that is this: the arrest and conviction of as many Colorado motorists as possible on drunk driving charges.
State drivers know how that plays out over prominent breaks and holidays spanning each year. When many Colorado drivers think about Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the Christmas holiday season, they do so with due regard for the state’s multiple and recurring anti-DUI enforcement campaigns.
It matters not whether you’re an office worker, soccer mom, college student or member of any other demographic: If you’re behind the wheel when stopped for allegedly driving drunk, your holiday well-being is destined to take a sudden hit.
Consider this: Colorado police officers and state troopers reportedly arrested nearly 900 drivers on DUI charges during a recent year’s Labor Day crackdown. Those numbers are closely replicated annually in initiatives featuring beefed-up patrols, saturation units, sobriety checkpoints and additional enforcement efforts.
What penalties potentially feature in a DUI conviction?
It is pretty clear following any given DUI stop in Colorado that law enforcers stick to a tight and undeviating script.
The bottom line: They don’t compromise or adopt leniency when they suspect that a driver is alcohol-impaired to any degree.
Maybe you just left a social event with an office group after having just a single drink. Perhaps you just departed your college campus after having a beer or two with friends. That could be all that was required to subject you to harsh legal challenges and a subsequent criminal conviction.
The adverse exactions flowing from a DUI conviction can be multiple and severe. They include these possibilities:
- Jail time (sometimes a lengthy behind-bars term following a repeat offense)
- Fines and attendant costs well in excess of $10,000
- Materially spiked insurance premiums
- License suspension or revocation
- Social stigma that mars standing in the local community
- Permanent criminal record
What can a proven legal team do to help your case?
Proceeding without experienced legal input in the wake of a DUI arrest can understandably be problematic. Key matters surrounding a case – ranging from probable cause and an initial stop to breathalyzer use, sobriety testing, charge details and more – can prove exceptionally complex and challenging.
One in-depth online source discussing diligent legal assistance in a DUI case duly notes that “you don’t know what you don’t know,” which can make proceeding without knowledgeable legal counsel a daunting proposition.
Among other things, a seasoned criminal defense team will undertake these actions:
- Thorough and exacting probe of all state evidence
- Aggressive defense aimed at exoneration or material mitigation of charges
A number of holidays are fast approaching. This year they will hopefully be marked in Colorado by a reduced number of motorists pulled over for alleged behind-the-wheel impairment.