Although a DUI is not a felony in Colorado, punishment for a DUI can be very serious, which is why it is crucial to have a Colorado defense attorney represent you and protect your rights. Basically, the punishments resulting from a traffic violation can be broken into two categories: criminal punishments and administrative sanctions. Criminal punishments are delivered by the courts, while the Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles handles the administrative penalties. These administrative penalties are essentially the terms of your driver's license suspension.
Because the privilege to drive is considered a constitutional right, the DMV must give a hearing before taking it away. However, this hearing is not a fair fight. The sole decider and prosecutor are one and the same: a DMV employee. Needless to say, a driver's chances of winning and averting the administrative sanction and suspension are not very good. So why is it important to have a lawyer even at this stage of the process?
First, a lawyer can present some mitigating evidence and potentially argue for an alternative sanction. Even if it's impossible to win the case, a lawyer gives you the best chance of getting the least burdensome sanction possible.
More importantly, the administrative hearing acts as a sort of dry-run for the ultimate criminal trial. The DMV will present essentially all the evidence that will be presented in a trial. Your Colorado attorney can then use this intelligence to determine how the case can be attacked in the more impartial trial setting. Additionally, the DMV hearing serves to get all the witnesses on the record with a version of the events while it is relatively fresh in their minds. If they attempt to give another account at the criminal trial, the record from the administrative hearing can be introduced to damage their credibility and help win the case. So it's very important to hire a Denver defense lawyer before, and not after, your administrative hearing.
Thank you for a great post. I found your article to be very interesting. I work on driver's license cases and have attending many administrative hearings regarding my clients' driving privileges. I think it harder to conduct an administrative presentation than a criminal trial because the created rules seem to strongly favor the government with little recourse to the respondent. I recommend having and attorney present at any administrative hearing where there is something at stake the person might have taken from them. Again, thanks for the great article.
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Denver Traffic Lawyer