It is no longer news that DUI/DWAI comes with serious consequences in Colorado. Therefore a smart DUI attorney will create a defense strategy for you based on every slight details of the stop, arrests and conducted test to avert the penalties and avoid convictions. A DUI lawyer has a choice to either seek case dismissal or plead for reduced charges depending on the severity of the case, details and available facts to argue in court. A prosecutor must also prove two points to be very clearly before a conviction would take place.

• That a driver is operating the car at the time it was pulled over
• That a driver is really impaired or driving under influence.

Sometimes, DUI arrests can be made even in parked cars n as much as the individual is in the driver’s seat and it can be proven that the car was operated to the spot by the subject under influence or some form of impairment. Once these two clauses can be proven excellently, the prosecutor is considered as having enough evidences to prove that you cannot drive safely due to impairment and influence, and that you can be hazardous to other road users.

Areas of DUI Defense

DUI usually cut across the areas of driving, arrests, tests and charges. Therefore, its defenses should address all of these carefully too. These includes;

• Defenses related to driving
• Defenses related to arrest
• Defenses related to Officers’ testimony
• Defenses related to chemical tests and BAC

As related to driving, the prosecutor must be able to prove to a reasonable doubt the two main points discussed earlier. These are the fact that it must be ascertained that the driver was operating the car and with impairment or under influence as at the time of the stop. Also, it should be noted that police officers have the right to stop any driver for these checks in suspicion of driving irregularities that may have been caused by alcohol and drug use. They could also propose voluntary tests (field sobriety tests) as well as chemical tests in the process to ascertain their suspicion. However, the prosecutors’ evidences are debatable as could be argued by your lawyer in court.

Your arrest could be another great phase to stage a defense from. Your attorney must take a close review of the actual arrest to find out if it is legal or otherwise. If any legal justification cannot be drawn from the arrest, it is as good as not good enough for an admissible evidence in court and may be argued. The prosecutor must cite probable cause for stopping your vehicle for drunk driving. If you therefore sense you have been topped for ulterior motives, you have every rights to challenge the arrest to render every evidences from there inadmissible.

Another option of defense to trigger is challenging the officer’s observations on whether you are drunk or not especially with the field sobriety tests. There are lots of limitations that could be cited against the test in order to render the prosecutor’s testimony of the encounter not exactly accurate. This would do a great job to reduce the resultant charges even if you are found eventually guilty via chemical tests. If you can also introduce a witness to refute officer’s observation claims and that you have been wrongfully pulled over or that the field tests are inaccurate, you might stage a good defense because you would be allowed to offer your own explanation and justification for any of the wrongfully recorded behavior. Hiding under lack of sleep, medication and physical impairment could actually render sobriety tests eventually inadmissible in court.

You could also contest chemical tests and resultant blood alcohol concentration (BAC). The convention n very state is that you could get arrested for DUI with a BAC of 0.08 percent. This is slightly different in Colorado as a BAC of 0.05 percent could actually get you booked for DWAI. Tests you might be made to submit yourself for include Breathalyzer, blood tests, urine test and saliva tests. All these tests except the blood test have questionable accuracy. This makes them contestable in court on various defense grounds. Areas that could be contested include administration of the test, consumption of food and medications, time of test versus time of drinking and lots more.

One thing is very important to note. DUI lawyers know the best way to protect your rights and these would surely be included in your defenses. Upon consultation, your DUI attorney would ask you questions that would help him to understand your case and stage the right defense. Ensure to answer them truthfully and correctly.