How Do I Pick a Lawyer for My DUI

By Chris Ponce
Posted on 1-20-2021

You’re out with friends having a great time, having some drinks, watching a game. Or, maybe you’re grieving the loss of a loved one and you’re out at the local bar trying to make sense of a fresh, grievous void in your life, Perhaps your spouse or partner just told you they wanted a divorce, and now you have to worry about how to sever two lives that were once so intricately fused together. Maybe any or all of these people are you. You enjoy your drinks, you mourn, you count your losses, the time ticks and the drinks keep coming. Now, it’s time to leave, it’s time to go home. You think, “Should I be driving?”

Maybe you truly are okay to drive; maybe not.

You get behind the wheel. You’re exhausted, from happiness or from sorrow, or a little of both. Your engine roars to life. You can’t wait to get where you’re going. It all seems to happen so suddenly, so rapidly: those alarming red and blue lights begin flickering behind you, lighting up your dashboard with the stark reality that you’re about to be contacted by a cop. You pull over.

At this moment in time, maybe you’re totally convinced you’re sober to drive; or, maybe those red and blues suddenly make you painfully aware of just how hazy and inebriated you feel. A hundred anxieties flash through your mind in a second: What will my wife think? Will my husband get the kids now? Will my partner leave me after this? Will I be fired? Will I lose my license? Will? Will? What will be?

The officer comes to the window. In seconds you can tell he smells the alcohol or the weed, or both. You’re nervous. Does he think I’m drunk because I’m nervous. You’re agitated. Is this making me look drunk (drunker than I am). You fumble through your paperwork. Oh no. He’s asking you to step out of the car. Is he talking? I’m not answering. You get out of the car.

The cop says, “Would you be willing to perform some voluntary roadside maneuvers for me to determine whether you’re safe to drive.”

Here come the tests. Yes, those tests you’ve seen people bombing on Youtube videos. Those tests—you’ve driven by it yourself, even laughing at the poor sap on the side of the road trying to desperately stand on one leg, walk a line, stare at a stern finger and watch it trace the horizon. Now you’re the sap. Who’s driving by? Who’s going to see me out here? Is it my colleagues, my boss, or my spouse?

Then, the cop shatters your world: “I am placing you under arrest for DUI.” He or she offers you a blood or breath test. Do you take it? Do you not? You’re not sure. You feel okay, maybe you don’t. How will it look if you do? How will it look if you don’t? It’s all happening so fast. The handcuff clasp together, and this is so unfamiliar to you. This isn’t you. You’re a good person, not a criminal. Now you feel utterly ashamed and you just want this to all go away.

Regardless of the circumstances, you now have a DUI and you want to know how best to defend yourself. There’s a lot at stake: Your license, your career, your reputation, your insurance premiums. How will you get by without a license? You have so many responsibilities.

If you’re facing a DUI and you’re looking for a lawyer, then you need to find someone who knows the law, has experience, and is good in the courtroom. This is the trifecta of good, effective legal counsel. And that’s what you need right now at a time when the outcome of your case can have drastic effects on your life.

Does your attorney know the law? Thorough report writing, honest police work, evidence, and proper procedures are essential to the State’s case of DUI against you. Unlike other general criminal cases, DUI investigations unfold in stages, and at each stage the proper procedure must be performed.

When the officer contacted you, was it a consensual encounter? Was it a stop based on reasonable suspicion? Or was it a stop based on probable cause for some traffic violation? Does the attorney know the difference between the three, and can the attorney make the legal or factual arguments for you based on that understanding? Does the attorney know the case law distinguishing the nuances of how the court analyzes these questions? All of this knowledge can drastically affect the outcome of your case.

When the officer was in contact with you, did he or she make you any promises for cooperation or threats for not cooperating? Once you were stopped, did the officer have reasonable suspicion to continue to detain you for longer than the original reason provided? When the officer asked you to do roadsides, did they clearly state that they were voluntary? This analysis can drastically affect the outcome of your case.

When the officer asked you to take a blood or breath test, did they have probable cause to believe you were DUI or DWAI? When they read you Colorado’s express consent law to you, did they read it in accordance with the law, or did they read it to you in a confusing way such that your refusal should not be held against you? If you chose a breath test, was the machine suitable and did it conform to all standards set for by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment? If you chose a blood test, were the blood vials properly documented and kept in an approved location and stored at the appropriate temperature? Was a blood vial preserved for a retest? Was chain of custody established, and were all protocols properly followed?

There are many concerns and questions of law that only an attorney that knows the law and has experience can answer and properly litigate for you. Pick an attorney that knows the law.

Finally, talk with the attorney in person or via some audio/video connection. Get a good look at the attorney you’re considering. Does this person look like they would be impressive in the courtroom? If they seem to be a buffoon, stumble over their words, aren’t dressed properly, have coffee stains on their shirt, smell like cigarettes, or smell like booze, how well do you think they will come off to a jury in a DUI case? If the attorney doesn’t seem to have compassion for your situation, but does seem eager to take your money, how hard do you think they’ll work on your case?

Make sure you get the trifecta of legal representation for your DUI case. Here is a little about me.

• I was a prosecutor for almost 6 years, and I was undefeated against defense attorneys in DUI trials because I know the law and I know what tricks don’t work.
• I was nominated twice by a Colorado State Patrol Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) for prosecutor of the year for my work on impaired driving cases.
• I spoke at a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration training on Marijuana Impaired Driving that included members of Colorado law enforcement, as well as out of state law enforcement.
• I trained other prosecutors in how to prosecute DUIs and DWAIs.
• I destroyed defense experts in trial because I have a firm grasp on toxicology (the study of how drugs and alcohol affect the body).

The best defense is a strong offense. Because I prosecuted DUI cases, I am confident that I can provide the best DUI defense you can get in Colorado. There are no other attorneys with credentials like mine."

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