An arrest for drunk or drugged driving in Brighton leads to two separate matters. One is the criminal charge. The other is the state’s action against your driver’s license, and it runs on its own schedule. What you do during the first several days, wherever the stop took place, can limit or preserve your choices.
Our firm, Shazam Kianpour & Associates, represents drivers charged with DUI or DWAI in Brighton and the rest of Adams County. Below, we describe how Colorado defines these offenses, how the license process works, and which steps to take immediately. The attorney’s background is on the attorney profile.
A separate clock for your license
Arrested for DUI in Brighton? In most cases you have seven days after you receive your notice of revocation to request a DMV hearing. The DMV and the legislature change these rules often, so speak with one of our traffic attorneys about your own situation. Letting that window close can allow the revocation to proceed regardless of how the criminal case turns out.
Colorado law, in C.R.S. 42-4-1301, ranks impaired driving by severity. At the top is DUI: driving after alcohol, drugs, or both have made a person substantially unable to use clear judgment, keep sufficient physical control of the vehicle, or exercise due care. One step down is DWAI, driving while ability impaired, which needs only a slight effect from the substance. A third category, DUI per se, rests on a blood or breath alcohol reading at or above the legal limit within two hours of driving. For per se, the prosecution does not have to prove visible impairment.
A chemical result is treated as an inference, not a conclusion. Depending on the number, a court may be allowed to infer impairment, and evidence pointing the other way can be weighed against it. For that reason the grounds for the stop, the way the test was given, and the time between driving and testing all deserve attention.
The statutes set ranges for jail, fines, public service hours, and driving record points. Those ranges climb for repeat offenses, for high test results, and when an injury is involved. They are ranges set by law, not forecasts for any one person, and an attorney can explain where a given charge sits.
A repeat offense can turn a DUI into a felony. See what separates a misdemeanor from a felony DUI. For the usual first-offense situation, read about first-time DUI charges in Colorado.
Revocation of a driver’s license is handled by the Department of Revenue in an administrative process that does not depend on the criminal court. When an officer arrests you after a breath test or a refusal, the officer usually serves a notice of revocation on the spot. If blood was drawn, the notice might arrive by mail. The date on that notice matters because the time to ask for a hearing begins when you receive it. Our DMV hearings page explains how the hearing works.
Both a test result above the limit and a refusal to test come with their own revocation periods. Colorado’s express consent law also allows a restricted license with an ignition interlock in some circumstances. A driver with a high test result, a refusal, or several alcohol-related convictions or revocations may be labeled a persistent drunk driver, and that label adds an education program and an ignition interlock requirement once the license is reinstated.
We begin with the facts of the night. Was there a lawful reason to pull you over? How were any roadside exercises given and written up? Did the breath or blood testing follow required procedures and happen on time? We also ask how a sample was stored and analyzed, whether an illness or medication could explain a result, and how long passed between the drive and the test.
Because the criminal case and the license matter travel on parallel tracks, we take on the DMV hearing together with the court case so the two efforts fit together. Outcomes differ from one case to the next, and no lawyer can promise one.
Shazam Kianpour’s background and education appear in the attorney profile. Your first consultation is free. Reach us at (303) 825-1075 or through the contact form. The information here is general and does not replace legal advice.
Go through the paperwork, and note when you received any notice of revocation. Contact a defense lawyer promptly so the hearing window does not close. Discuss the case only with your attorney, and avoid posting about it.
Generally not. A first offense is typically charged as a misdemeanor. Repeat offenses, and cases where someone is seriously hurt or killed, can be charged as felonies under other statutes.
Both involve impaired driving. A DUI requires that you were substantially unable to drive safely, while a DWAI requires only that you were affected to the slightest degree. DWAI penalties are lighter, but they can still include points, a fine, and jail.
A refusal triggers its own administrative revocation, and repeat refusals draw longer ones. You may ask for a hearing, but only inside the window in your paperwork, which usually runs seven days from receipt of the notice.
Written by
Shazam KianpourDenver Criminal Defense Attorney & Founder, Shazam Kianpour & Associates, P.C.
