Tag Archives: Colorado DUI

Last year, Senate Democrats in Colorado killed a bill that would have made repeat DUI offenses a felony offense in Colorado, much to the surprise and chagrin of the proposed law’s supporters. But now a Weld County state representative is trying again, with a new bill that, if passed, would classify a charged driver’s third DUI in seven years as a class 4 felony.  A class 4 felony carries a 2-6 year prison sentence followed by a mandatory 5 year period of parole.  The ... Read More »

Arapahoe County prosecutors have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a decision by a District Court judge and the Colorado Supreme Court, which found that because the officer did not try to obtain a warrant before she ordered a blood draw on Schaufele, the results may not be presented as evidence. Thirteen other states have also filed a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to pick up the case. If the high court takes up the case, their decision will have national ... Read More »

Under current Canadian law, a DUI or DWAI conviction in Colorado (or elsewhere in the U.S.) may make you a “criminally inadmissible person.” An “inadmissible person” cannot visit or stay in Canada because they have been convicted of certain crimes in, or outside of, Canada. Despite meeting eligibility requirements, foreign individuals from any country may still be criminally inadmissible to Canada due to previous criminal conduct, or the criminal conduct of their dependents. In particular, if you are convicted of a ... Read More »

It can’t be denied that the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in McNeely is making an impact in Colorado, even if that impact is slight and apparent in only the rarest and most serious of cases.  This June, the Supreme Court of Colorado announced its decision in People v. Schaufele, which affirmed a trial court’s order suppressing evidence of a defendant’s involuntary, warrantless, blood draw.  In doing so, the Court found (by a plurality of three Judges) that ... Read More »

Denver, CO – The Denver Post Democrats in a state Senate committee on Tuesday quashed a bipartisan proposal to make repeat DUI offenses a felony in Colorado — a move that angered some lawmakers and victim-rights advocates. Under the proposal, sponsored by Sens. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, and Mike Johnston, D-Denver, anyone who gets a third DUI in a seven-year span or is charged with a fourth DUI would be charged with a class 4 felony. That charge carries a sentence ... Read More »

DENVER – Eight times between July 1, 2012, and July 1, 2013, someone in Colorado convicted of vehicular homicide/DUI found themselves on the fortunate end of a judge’s decision. A recent study by Colorado Legislative Council Staff found on eight occasions judges sentenced eight defendants to probation instead of jail or prison. Colorado law does not require judges to sentence those convicted of driving drunk and killing someone to time behind bars. Rep. Polly Lawrence (R-Littleton) had hoped to bring ... Read More »

Denver, CO – The Denver Post Ever Olivos-Gutierrez, 40, who has been living in the U.S. illegally, is accused of running a red light and slamming his Ford Expedition into the Chevrolet Camaro driven by Dominguez-Palomino a week ago. At a court hearing on Monday, Olivos-Gutierrez was formally charged with first-degree murder (extreme indifference), vehicular homicide (DUI), vehicular homicide (reckless), and driving under the influence for a third or subsequent offense, among other charges. Read More »

Law enforcement officials in Colorado say they made 1,342 DUI arrests between August 16 and September 3 — a time period during which they typically ramp up enforcement efforts in preparation for Labor Day Weekend, reports TheDenverChannel.com. Just to put this in context, because it sounds like a lot, this works out to an annual number of 24,973 arrests.  The 10-year average is usually between 30,000 and 35,000 consistently. 1,300 arrests for 100 agencies over 19 days is two arrests every three ... Read More »

In a press release issued today, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has announced that it will suspend itself from blood-alcohol and blood-drug testing due to systemic failures and staff incompetence. DENVER – Effective July 3, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will suspend blood-alcohol and blood-drug testing performed at its toxicology laboratory until further notice. During this suspension, the state toxicology lab will complete the work on samples currently in the testing process. Unprocessed specimens will ... Read More »

Colorado NORML On June 12th, Colorado NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws), sent a letter to the Governor, Speaker of House Ferrandino, Senate President Morse and Colorado Attorney General asking  the Legislature reconsider its decision to impose an arbitrary DUID-marijuana standard of 5 ng/ml in light of the revelations of the drastic deficiencies in the lab training, qualification, accuracy, standard operating procedures, reporting, and alleged bias of employees of the state toxicology laboratory at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Next, NORML is ... Read More »