Colorado Springs Criminal Law Blog

When a person is arrested on suspicion of DUI in Colorado, he may face suspension of his driver's license even if he hasn't been convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol. This type of suspension is known as an administrative license suspension, or ALS. Currently, 41 U.S. states have laws that specifically allow the state's Bureau of Motor Vehicles to suspend the license of drivers arrested on suspicion of DUI, even if there has been no conviction.

An administrative license suspension is triggered by an arrest on suspicion of drunk driving, failure or refusal to take a blood alcohol test, or both, depending on the state in which the person is stopped. Since it is related to the arrest and not a conviction, it can be in effect even before a person has had a chance to speak to a judge or have a trial.

Research indicates that administrative license suspension lowers the number of alcohol-related crashes, as well as the number of people who are convicted multiple times of drunk driving, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The IIHS recommends long license suspension periods; periods around the U.S. currently vary from 7 days to 90 days or more. Although drivers are allowed to have a hearing to determine whether the suspension is appropriate, these suspensions often place a heavy burden on drivers who rely on their vehicles to travel to work or to transport young, disabled, or elderly family members who cannot drive themselves.

Being arrested on suspicion of a DUI can have serious consequences, and the penalties for being convicted are even tougher. If you're facing DUI charges in Colorado, the experienced Colorado Springs DUI defense attorneys at The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. can help. Call us today at (719) 475-2555 for a free and confidential case evaluation.

The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), a group of policymakers from around the country, recently announced that it plans to make reducing the rates of drugged driving in Colorado and other states a priority in the coming year. The GHSA called drugged driving a “highway safety issue,” and urges state and federal governments to make cracking down on “drugged drivers” a priority.

Like drunk driving, drugged driving occurs when a person is too impaired by the effects of a prescription, over-the-counter, or illegal drug, or any combination of these drugs or drugs and alcohol, to operate a vehicle safely. All fifty U.S. states currently have laws against drugged driving, but since the effects of drugs can be different on different people and depending on what is in the substance, correctly identifying drugged drivers can be extremely difficult.

GHSA's new policy encourages member states to separate drunk driving and drugged driving in their criminal codes, develop standardized testing procedures for police to use when they stop someone on suspicion of impaired driving, and increase training for law enforcement officers to make them more effective at identifying and arresting those whom they believe may be driving while impaired by a drug or a combination of drugs.

If you've been charged with a drug crime in Colorado, please don't hesitate to call the experienced Colorado drug crime defense lawyers at The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. We have the experience and resources to fight for the best possible outcome in your case while also protecting your legal rights. For a free and confidential consultation, call us today at (719) 475-2555.

Research on sobriety checkpoints tends to agree that checkpoints work best when the community is informed about them ahead of time. When drivers know approximately when, where, and for how long a sobriety checkpoint will be operating, they choose to avoid driving when they believe they may be too impaired by alcohol or drugs to make safe choices behind the wheel or to avoid a possible arrest. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that sobriety checkpoints are legal as long as a minimum amount of notice to the community is given. But how much notice is required? Many state courts around the country have given different answers to this question.

For instance, New Hampshire's Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that notice published the same day in at least one newspaper is enough notice of a sobriety checkpoint when the checkpoint itself is also clearly marked with signs indicating what it is for and where drivers should stop. In North Carolina, a Court of Appeals found that an individual driver stopped at a checkpoint did not have to know about it in advance in order for the stop to be constitutional, as long as the driver's Fourth Amendment rights were not violated in any other way at the stop.

If you or someone you love has been charged with driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while impaired (DWI), please don't hesitate to call the experienced Colorado drunk driving defense lawyers at The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. We will work with you to build an aggressive defense that protects your legal rights and fights for the best possible outcome in your case. For a free and confidential consultation, call us today at (719) 475-2555.

The minimum legal drinking age is currently 21 years in every U.S. state. However, the minimum age has changed over the years. In the early 1970s, the age was lowered in several states to 18, 19, or 20. Although the minimum legal drinking age is the single best-studied alcohol control policy in the U.S., according to collegedrinkingprevention.gov, questions still remain as to whether or not it decreases the risks of drunk driving and other alcohol-related criminal charges.

A review of studies of minimum legal drinking age laws conducted between 1960 and 2000 found that about one-third of the studies determined that a higher drinking age led to less alcohol consumption. Slightly more than half (58 percent) of the studies reviewed stated that a higher minimum legal drinking age lowered the rate of traffic accidents related to driving under the influence (DUI). While these numbers suggest that a higher minimum legal drinking age may reduce the risk of criminal charges for alcohol-related misbehavior, they are not conclusive.

Studies on college campuses revealed even more mixed results. Of the 64 studies reviewed, not one found any significant relationship between a change in the minimum legal drinking age and the reduction of minors in possession of alcohol or underage DUI related charges on college campuses. Meanwhile, some college administrators say that they have more problems with students being charged because the minimum legal drinking age is higher, and that these problems could be reduced if the drinking age were lowered.

If you've been charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol, a DUI, or other alcohol- or drug-related crime in Colorado, the experienced Colorado Springs criminal defense attorneys at The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. can help. For a free and confidential consultation, call us today at (719) 475-2555.

Like many U.S. states, Colorado has a “sex offender registry” that includes the name and personal information of Colorado residents who have been convicted of certain types of sex-related crimes. Understanding the sex offender registry requirements is key to knowing what it means to be included in it.

The Sex Offender Registration Act requires a person to be included in the registry if he or she is convicted of:

• Enticement of a child;
• An unlawful sexual offense;
• Unlawful sexual behavior; or
• Being a sexually violent predator.

These four categories cover a wide range of sex-related acts that are prohibited under Colorado law. In addition, Colorado requires a person to be included in the sex offender registry if:

• He or she is a temporary or permanent resident of Colorado and who was convicted or released on the basis of an act covered by one of the four categories above;
• He or she was convicted in any other state that requires the person to be put on the sex offender registry in that state; or
• He or she has a juvenile record of “unlawful sexual behavior,” including a deferred juvenile adjudication.

Sex offenses in Colorado come with strict penalties if a person is convicted. The skilled Colorado Springs sex crime defense lawyers at The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. are dedicated to fighting to protect the rights of each client and to aggressively seeking the best possible outcome in each case. For a free and confidential consultation, please don't hesitate to call us today at (719) 475-2555.

A Colorado felony is any crime for which a person convicted may be sentenced to one year or more of incarceration. A felony sentence may also involve other requirements like fines, community service, and probation or parole. While the type of sentence a person may face depends on the facts of his or her conviction, the Colorado Legislative Council (CLC) offers several statistics that give an overview of felony sentencing in Colorado.

First, the CLC found that approximately 48 percent of people who receive a Colorado felony conviction are sentenced to probation. One-third, or 33 percent, are given prison sentences, about 5 percent serve jail sentences, and about 3 percent are sentenced to community corrections. Overall, the number of people sent to Colorado prisons has decreased in the past few years as other options, like community corrections, have become available.

People facing felony convictions in Colorado are more likely to be sentenced to a prison term, rather than jail, community corrections, or probation, under the following circumstances:

• If they have prior felony convictions;
• If their current conviction is for a serious or violent crime; and
• If they have a history of not meeting the requirements of probation or community corrections in the past.

The court considers these and other factors when deciding what sentence to give a person who has received a Colorado felony conviction.

Felonies are generally considered serious crimes, and the penalties for being convicted of one are stiff. If you or someone you love has been charged with a felony in Colorado, please don't hesitate to call the experienced Colorado Springs felony defense attorneys at The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. For a free and confidential consultation, call us today at (719) 475-2555.

Sobriety checkpoints are often used in Colorado and other states to deter drivers from getting behind the wheel while intoxicated and to stop any drivers whom police suspect are too impaired to drive. However, being stopped at a sobriety checkpoint may result in a citation or arrest on suspicion of more crimes than merely driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) describes Colorado sobriety checkpoints as “a special form of roadside safety checks.” These “safety checks” cover much more than just whether drivers have been drinking alcohol. At most checkpoints, officers follow a specific procedure with each driver that is stopped. This procedure often includes checking the driver's license, registration, and vehicle insurance, if required; checking the vehicle identification number (VIN) visible through the windshields of most cars on the driver's side; and talking to the driver to see if the officer can spot any signs of obvious impairment.

Although sobriety checkpoints are often advertised as a way to stop “drunk drivers,” a driver who is suspected of breaking any motor vehicle law may be ticketed or arrested by police at a sobriety checkpoint. This includes drivers who have suspended licenses, expired vehicle registration or license plate tags, or are engaging in another behavior that police suspect may be illegal. While an expired tag or broken taillight may just get a driver a warning or ticket, the risk exists that a driver may be arrested if police suspect a more serious violation of the law.

If you or someone you love has been arrested or charged with a DUI or other vehicle-related crime, the experienced Colorado Springs drunk driving defense lawyers at The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. can help you. Call us today at (719) 475-2555 for a free and confidential consultation.

Preliminary breath testing, or PBT, is often used during a traffic stop by an officer who suspects that a driver may be driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), but who does not yet have enough information to make an arrest. A driver whose PBT results show that his blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is over 0.08 percent may face arrest and charges of drunk driving. With so much at stake, it's important to understand how PBT instruments work.

There are three basic types of preliminary breath testing instruments: infrared, wet chemical, and electrical. Each is designed to take a breath sample and calculate the amount of alcohol it contains, but the methods used may differ.

In an infrared PBT device, an infrared beam inside the device is calibrated to “see” alcohol molecules in a breath sample. The device measures the number of alcohol molecules it can “see” versus the total number of molecules in the sample, and then calculates a percentage. A wet chemical device, on the other hand, measures alcohol in a breath sample by measuring the amount of the sample that reacts with chromate salts, which will react to alcohol but not to most other substances commonly found in human breath.

Finally, electro-chemical or other electrical-based PBT devices, also use a reaction between alcohol and another substance. However, in these devices, the alcohol's reaction with the substance produces an electric current, which the device reads. The stronger the current, the more alcohol is in the breath sample.

Understanding how PBT devices work is just one step in fighting for the best possible outcome in your case. At The Bussey Law Firm, P.C., our experienced Colorado DUI defense attorneys are familiar with PBT technology. They know how to examine test results and other evidence in your case thoroughly and how to build an aggressive defense on your behalf. For a free and confidential consultation, call us today at (719) 475-2555.