Even a Blind Squirrel Finds A Nut Sometimes

One of the least gratifying aspects of Moran and Heim's Colorado Springs and El Paso County DUI practice is appearing at the Department of Motor Vehicles. As my partner Mike Moran is fond of saying, "It's a drag, I'd rather stick a fork in my eye than go to DMV." Facing the facts, more often than not, a driver charged with a DUI will lose his or her license through the DMV. So why go in the first place?

A little background information first . . .

When you are charged with Driving Under the Influence in Colorado and your blood or breath alcohol content is .08 or greater, or if you refused a chemical test, there are two separate and independent actions taken against you--one at the court house and one at the Department of Motor Vehicles (or DMV). That DMV action determines whether your driver's privilege will be revoked--the MINIMUM revocation for an adult on a first offense is now NINE MONTHS. To get your license back after one of these revocations, or to apply for early reinstatement, you have to comply with some fairly onerous requirements including IGNITION INTERLOCK--a breath test device on your car.

At the hearing, the case the police must prove boils down to four basic elements:

1. Do the police have a legitimate reason under the Constitution to contact or stop you? This is called reasonable articulable suspicion.
2. Do the police develop enough facts to show that you were under the influence or impaired by alcohol while you were driving? This is called probable cause. For DMV purposes, this is generally just three indicators of alcohol impairment, for example: "blood shot and watery eyes, slurred speech, and an odor of alcohol."
   
3. Do the police properly advise you of your obligations and rights regarding chemical testing, or the ramifications of refusing a chemical test? This is called express consent.
4. Finally, was there a valid chemical test above a .08 that was collected within two hours of the time of driving or was there a refusal to take a test?

Assuming the police can produce enough evidence (either through reports or testimony) to convince an administrative judge that the answer to those questions is yes, YOU WILL LOSE YOUR LICENSE. This DMV hearing is not an even playing field, and while there are a number of strategies, policies, and loop holes--we like to call them "lawyer tricks"--that we use to try to even the field, the procedure is designed to take your license. We advise every client that the likelihood is that you will lose your license for some period of time if your test is above a .08 or you refused a test: we don't want to sugar coat what will happen and we want you to be able to honestly assess the situation. At this point, we are often asked "Why bother fighting the revocation in the first place?".

The answer to that question is "Sometimes we WIN!!" Hence, today's blog. The Moran and Heim firm had four DMV hearings on DUI cases today, and our clients did NOT LOSE THEIR LICENSES in three of those cases. That's a 75% success rate for today! That is a spectacular day for our clients (remember, we could and never would guarantee results like this for a particular case) and these cases drive home the point that you should never just forfeit your license without a fight in a DUI or DWAI case. Sometimes there are problems with the chemical test, sometimes the traffic stop is not legally justified, sometimes the cop just forgets to attend the hearing. These things do happen, not in a majority of DUI cases, but often enough to say NEVER WAIVE YOUR DMV HEARING. You lose nothing by having the hearing, and have everything to gain. The worst case scenario is that you learn more about your case through the hearing and that knowledge is always helpful when defending the criminal side of the case in court. The best case scenario is that you don't lose your license. Although the hearing is a "drag" to attend, you don't ever lose anything by pressing your rights at the DMV!!

If you have been charged with a DUI or DWAI, or have an action pending at the DMV, give attorneys Geoff Heim and Michael Moran a call to discuss your case. You can also visit our website at www.moranandheim.com to find out more about DUI cases and our partners. We will be happy to help you craft a strategy to set you up to succeed both through the DMV AND Court.