Colorado DUI Penalties

A Colorado DUI or DWAI arrest can initiate two separate case hearings. The first is a criminal court case, where the defendant is liable to be charged with a multitude of penalties ranging from jail time, community service, fines and so on.

The second case is a Division of Motor Vehicles hearing where the defendant may have their driving privileges suspended. However, in order to avoid having your license taken away, it is absolutely necessary that you contact the DMV within seven days of your arrest in order to request a special hearing.

Colorado DUI

Interestingly enough, there are two types of drunk driving charges in the state of Colorado. The first is the DWI, which relates to either driving under the influence of an intoxicant (and thus being impaired) or violation of the states “per se” law. The “per se” law states that an individual with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 percent or higher is sufficiently impaired both physically and mentally enough so as to not be able to properly and safely operate a motor vehicle. A key point to the DWI concept though, is that even if the individual being charged passed both the field sobriety test and the driving pattern perfectly, the offender can still be arrested if they happen to fail the chemical test (which examines their BAC).

Colorado DWAI

The second type of charge is called a DWAI (which stands for driving while ability impaired), and is somewhat similar to a Colorado DUI. The main overall difference is that an individual can be charged with a DWAI if their blood alcohol content (BAC) is .05 percent or higher.

Penalties for a Colorado DUI or DWAI

The penalties for a DUI are somewhat stringent, as the offender may receive a sentence of at least one year in jail, a $1000 fine, 96 hours of community service, an alcohol evaluation, an alcohol education course, and also up to 86 hours of alcohol therapy.

The penalties for a DWAI though are fortunately less severe, as the minimum punishment is at least ten days in jail. Second and third offenses though can carry higher penalties and thus require more jail time.

However, a skilled Colorado DUI/DWAI lawyer can help in avoiding or at least minimizing the extensive penalties for drunk driving in the state of Colorado. It is absolutely necessary that if you are arrested and charged for a DUI or DWAI, that you contact a DUI/DWAI defense lawyer immediately.