O'Malley Law Office, P.C. > Practice Areas > Best Larimer County DUI Lawyer | Fort Collins DWAI Defense Attorney > Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI) in Larimer County / Fort Collins

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI) in Larimer County / Fort Collins

Have you been charged with a Driving Under the Influence in Fort Collins or Loveland? Contact us immediately for a free consultation to discuss your case.
Colorado State University students and the general public find Driving Under the Influence charges one of the most commonly charged.  In any class at school, or at your job, someone has had a DUI. What makes this crime so serious is that employers often require a clean driving record for your employment, whether you drive one of their cars or your own.  Employers want a clean driving record for insurance and liability purposes.  In a competitive job market, a conviction for any crime can make the difference.

[pullquote align=”center” textalign=”center” width=”100%”]Employers want you to have a clean driving record – even a DUI conviction can make it hard to get a job.[/pullquote]

Fort Collins Driving Under the Influence Attorney: The Definition of DUI in Larimer County, Colorado

A Colorado DUI results when the following definition is met in Larimer County. Driving Under the Influence – C.R.S. 42-4-1301 means:

Driving a vehicle when a person has consumed alcohol or one or more drugs, or a combination of alcohol and one or more drugs, which alcohol alone, or one or more drugs alone, or alcohol combined with one or more drugs affects the person to a degree that the person is substantially incapable, either mentally or physically, or both mentally and physically, to exercise clear judgment, sufficient physical control, or due care in the safe operation of a vehicle.

To be convicted, a driver must have been in “actual physical control” of the vehicle.  This means he or she is the one who was driving, had control of the keys which remain in the ignition, or under a totality of the circumstances was the person running the car.  This issue can become a highly contested issue for the trial court to decide, and eventually the jury.

Larimer County DUI Lawyer: The Steps an Officer is Required to Take

In order to be required to submit to a chemical test of the driver’s blood or breath to determine blood alcohol levels, the officer must first have reasonable suspicion of some type of crime in order to stop a vehicle.  Once the vehicle is lawfully stopped, the officer can use a combination of his observations to form the probable cause requirement for an arrest.  Following arrest, the officer will read an advisement requiring the driver to elect between a blood or breath test to determine if the driver’s BAC (blood alcohol content) exceeds the DUI minimum of .08.  At this point, the government will have a permissible inference that you were driving under the influence of alcohol.

[pullquote align=”center” textalign=”center” width=”100%”]We advise our clients to roll down the window a few inches to provide license and registration to police officers after a traffic stop.[/pullquote]

Fort Collins DUI Lawyer: Voluntary Roadside Test / Maneuvers

Fort Collins Police Officers, Larimer Sheriff Deputies and State Patrol Troopers in Larimer County are trained to get you to talk and to take the voluntary roadside maneuvers.  If pulled over, we advise our clients to roll the window down only a few inches and provide the officer your driver’s license, registration and insurance.  Don’t agree to take these voluntary roadside tests.  These are voluntary and only benefit the officer in his determination of probable cause to arrest you. The roadsides cannot help you.

Larimer County Driving Under the Influence Attorney: Refusal to Take the Required Test

It is never a good idea to refuse to take the express consent BAC test in Colorado.  You will face a mandatory one year revocation of your license if you refuse.  You will not be permitted to drive at all, not even with an interlock system installed.

The Department of Motor Vehicles Case Against You

If your blood alcohol level is found to be .08 or over, you will be given a temporary 7 day permit to drive by your arresting officer.  After the 7 days, your driving privilege is suspended in Colorado.  During this 7 day period, you are entitled to request a hearing to determine if you had “excess blood alcohol content” and should have your driving privilege revoked for a period.  If you request a hearing, you will be given a temporary permit to drive until your DMV hearing occurs.  If you lose at the DMV hearing, you will not be allowed to drive home after the hearing.  Our lawyers attend these hearings and can give you the strongest chance of keeping your license.

Why You Need an Experienced Larimer County DUI Lawyer

Our experienced DUI defense lawyers successfully defend men and women charged with DUI and DWAI in Fort Collins, Loveland and all of Larimer County.  We will carefully examine every component of your DUI stop, and illustrate the faulty foundations underlying the DA’s case to your jury. There are many defenses available concerning the initial stop of your vehicle, the probable cause determination, and the chemical testing of your blood or breath.  Don’t trust your future to an overworked public defender or a part-time criminal defense lawyer.  Our full time attorneys only practice criminal law.  Meet with us for a free consultation and see why our DUI lawyers are worthy of your trust.

Request a Free Consultation

Since our attorneys only practice criminal defense, we know DUI law well. When your driver’s license and job are on the line, Loveland, Fort Collins or anywhere in Larimer County, call us first at 970-658-0007, or submit the “Get Help Now” form.
Together, we can protect your future.

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