The procedure that results in driver’s license suspension in a drunk driving is completely different from that of an ordinary moving violation. Under most state laws, the law enforcement officer will suspend the driver’s license even before the suspect has been convicted of the offense. Following an arrest in a DUI case, the police officer will take the driver’s license and in its place issue a temporary license that expires at a later date. The license becomes suspended on that expiry date, unless the suspects DUI lawyer has prevailed at a DMV hearing.

It is the responsibility of the person charged with DUI to request a DMV hearing. The driver’s license becomes automatically suspended by the DMV in the absence of a request for a hearing. This can take place irrespective of whether the charges are reduced later or even dismissed in a court of law. The DMV hearing provides an opportunity to the suspect to argue against license suspension by and through his DUI defense lawyer.

Every person charged with driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while ability impaired (DWAI) in Colorado has the right to go to trial, although not everyone chooses to go to trial.

Here’s an overview of the process used in most DUI trials, starting on the day of trial:

1. The parties meet in the courtroom and discuss preliminary issues, like last-minute plea agreements or the ability to use or to keep out certain pieces of evidence.
2. If you have a jury trial, the process of “voir dire” is used to pick the jurors. The chosen jury is sworn in, and the judge reads pre-trial instructions to them.
3. The prosecutor makes an opening statement describing what he or she intends to prove. Your attorney may make an opening statement, or he may wait until the second half of the trial.
4. The prosecutor presents evidence to try to build the case he or she described in the opening statement. Evidence may include witnesses, lab reports, and other items. Your attorney may challenge the evidence, cross-examine witnesses, and raise objections to protect your legal rights.
5. The prosecutor “rests,” or finishes, and your attorney takes the floor. Your attorney may call witnesses or present other evidence, and the prosecutor may challenge it, cross-examine witnesses, or raise objections.

The bill to advance a limit for THC in DUI blood testing was voted down by the full House Committee today. House Bill 1114 sought to establish an inference for blood limits in DUI cases.

House Bill 1114 would have created a legal inference if a blood test of a suspect in a drugged driving case resulted in 5 nanograms or more of THC per milliliter. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive element in marijuana.

Earlier this year, Colorado’s 24-member task force endorsed a bill that would create what is essentially a limit for marijuana DUI cases. Similar to the inference created if a person’s blood or breath test in a DUI case comes back over .05 (DWAI) or at least .08 (DUI), this bill would allow a jury to be instructed by a judge that the jury may infer intoxication by way of marijuana ingestion if a valid blood test showed a TCH level of 5 nanograms or more of TCH in the blood. Because the bill would have created an inference, and not a per se limit, DUI attorneys would be legally allowed to argue that a person is not impaired by the test result.

Since 2010, lawmakers have tried to establish a marijuana limit for drivers in Colorado. In the past three attempts, a per se limit was proposed that would have made a separate crime for driving with 5ng or more of active THC in the blood a crime. This year’s attempt was different in that it would have created a legal inference, but not a per se DUI crime, separate from the common DUI charge.

With the advancement of medical marijuana, and the recent passage of Amendment 64, law enforcement has been very vocal about prosecuting more cases involving stoned drivers. There has been increased training and focus on enforcing the DUI laws against drugged drivers. The Denver Police Department constantly warns the public about increased efforts to pursue stoned drivers.

The fact remains, however, that there is no science to back up a number. DUI attorney Jay Tiftickjian was recently interviewed by 9News Colorado, and discussed the lack of scientific studies to try to confirm a hard number for marijuana impairment.

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