The seven deadly sins you can commit when dealing with a DUI case in Colorado are:
THINKING IT IS A ‘SIMPLE’ DUI. There is no such thing as a ‘simple’ DUI. A conviction on this charge will follow you for the rest of your life. The additional insurance charges alone could cost you thousands of dollars. You may lose numerous job opportunities, be denied housing, lose a pilot’s license and be prevented from traveling to foreign countries. There are many hidden costs you will experience from a conviction.
THINKING ALL ATTORNEYS ARE THE SAME-they are NOT. DUI defense is a complex field. It involves physical, mental, emotional, scientific, technical, and factual issues that are unique to each case. Timing can be very important to the success of your case. Defenses must be raised at the right time or you will lose them and evidence must be gathered quickly. You should seek out the best qualified attorney who specializes in this area of practice. Aquality DUI attorney will surround himself with a trained and talented team, assuring the client of personalized attention to each case.
NOT REQUESTING AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING TO PROTECT YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE. The accused only has 7 days to request the hearing in a breath or refusal case. In a blood case the accused only has 10 days to request this hearing from the date the Order of Revocation was mailed. If an attorney doesn’t tell you about this hearing or says you can’t win this hearing -- that attorney is either not competent to represent you or is taking short cuts at your expense.
HIRING A LAWYER WHO HAS THE LOWEST FEE. The lowest fee may mean the least qualified and the least amount of time spent on your case. This kind of lawyer may take the easy way out and settle for the first offer the government makes so he can quickly move on to another low-fee case. His concern is quantity, not quality. You get sold out when the legal issues of your case are ignored in an effort to make a quick fee. The low fee most likely will cost you more in hidden costs before you are finished. Be careful of bargains with brain surgeons, parachutes, and DUI defense attorneys.
QUICKLY ACCEPTING A SETTLEMENT FROM THE PROSECUTOR. The first offer is not a deal. An attorney who takes the first offer is trying to get rid of your case with the least amount of work. You never get to raise legal issues or make the state prove its case. This is not legal defense—this is dump truck lawyering.
DRIVING AFTER YOUR LICENSE HAS BEEN TAKEN AWAY. This is an arrestable offense and can make it more difficult to defend your DUI case, as well as cause an increased revocation period. In Colorado, you can be facing an additional one year revocation of your driver’s license and a mandatory minimum 30-day jail sentence, if charged with Driving Under the Influence–Alcohol Prohibited.
NOT PROTECTING YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS. An experienced DUI attorney will recognize the issues unique to your case and will have the experience to protect you. This includes at a minimum, challenging the legality of the reason you were stopped, the legality of any test given to you, the voluntariness of the field tests, the propriety of any field test given to you, the validity of your arrest itself, the legality of any express consent advisement, and the procedures of the administration of any breath/blood test.