DUI PROCESS
 

Law enforcement contact:

A police officer must have a reason to make contact with a driver (reasonable suspicion). However, law enforcement has a broad range of reasons to make contact.

General Traffic Stop: Moving violations are the most utilized reasons by law enforcement (municipal / city police, sheriff, state patrol) to make contact with a driver. Speeding and weaving (failure to remain in a single lane) seem to be the most frequent reasons drivers are pulled over (as experienced in this Colorado Law Firm). Other moving violations cops use to make contact with a driver are running red lights or failure to stop at a stop sign (failure to stop), failure to use turn signals, driving to slow, following too close, sitting at a green light too long, and making a turn into the wrong lane, wrong way on a one way street.

Defective vehicle: Police officers will also make a traffic stop for a non-moving violation. For example, police officers are allowed to stop vehicles for: burnt out headlights, brake lights, turn signals, and license plate lights; cracked windshields (obstruction of view); expired license plates; etc.

Accident: Police officers respond to most traffic accidents. These accidents can vary from very serious multi-vehicle crashes, to fender benders, and even single car accidents. Police Officers are usually looking for signs of intoxication when there is a traffic accident. In Colorado, if the driver at fault is suspected of DUI and another person is injured, the suspected DUI driver is often cited with felony vehicular assault. Likewise, if a death has occurred and the at-fault driver is suspected of DUI, that driver will most likely be charged with felony vehicle homicide. When a person is charged with vehicular assault or vehicular homicide, law enforcement will require a blood draw. If the driver refuses to cooperate in a blood draw, Colorado law enforcement can physically force the driver to provide blood samples. Two blood samples will be taken at different times to determine if the driver’s BAC is increasing or decreasing, and thus a determination of the BAC at time of driving can be extrapolated.

In many accidents involving suspected DUI drivers, the suspected DUI driver has left the scene either on foot or in a vehicle. Law enforcement will attempt to make immediate contact with the driver. If a witness has had a chance to get the license plate number, police will be able to run a search on the vehicle and obtain identification and location information for the registered owner. The police will then send an officer to the registered address in an attempt to make contact with the owner and/or driver. If contact is made, the police officer will then determine if the person is intoxicated. One issue law enforcement faces with a suspected DUI driver that has left the scene is determining when that driver had his/her last drink. In some situations, intoxication has occurred after driving.

Citizen complaint / Tip: Combining national awareness for DUI drivers, Cellular Telephones, and billboards posted with law enforcement contact, citizen complaints regarding driving have increased. Colorado has established REDDI reports – Report Every Drunk Driver Immediately with billboards providing phone numbers for law enforcement. Citizens calling in a complaint for driving violations or suspected drivers under the influence are not required to provide their identification (anonymous tip). In Colorado, law enforcement officers will attempt to locate the driver and observe the driver for driving violations to establish independent reasonable suspicion. The purpose for establishing independent reasonable suspicion is to defend the stop. If the police officer does not have reasonable suspicion for the stop, the stop is questionable and may be an area for suppressing evidence. If an officer relays on the citizen complaint as the basis for the stop, the citizen must be a credible witness. Anonymous tips from citizens are not deemed from a credible source.

This law firm has also dealt with cases where a spouse, partner, friend, co-worker, neighbor, etc. has contacted law enforcement regarding a suspected DUI driver. In some situations the person calling the police is concerned for the safety of the driver as well as others in the community. In a few cases, the call seems to be prompted by revenge, in an effort just to get the person arrested.

Sobriety checkpoints (roadblocks): In a sobriety checkpoint, law enforcement sets up roadblocks and stops, for example, every third vehicle. A police officer will then engage the driver in a conversation in an attempt to determine if that driver is under the influence. When the cop believes a driver is impaired or has been drinking, the cop will ask the driver to pull over and perform the voluntary field sobriety tests. If the driver does not complete the field sobriety tests to the officer’s satisfaction then the officer will request that the driver complete a blood or breath test (BAC BrAC). Colorado Springs Police recently acquired a Mobile Blood Alcohol testing unit (BAT). This unit, which will be used at DUI checkpoints, will be able to provide breath testing, blood testing, and videotaping for DUI suspects (Gazette Telegraph, March 23, 2008).

These sobriety checkpoints are usually set up late at night – early morning hours (bar closing time in Colorado) weekends and holiday weekends.

Often times the legality or the constitutionality of sobriety checkpoints are questioned. The fourth amendment of the United States Constitution states “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” So the obvious argument is that these sobriety checkpoints are unconstitutional. However, the Supreme Court determined that sobriety checkpoints do not violate the Constitution if they are “properly conducted” (some state constitutions prohibit checkpoints).

Suspicious Vehicle: Police officers may also make contact with suspicious vehicles. For example, cops view a vehicle as suspicious if it is parked outside of a closed business. Likewise, an officer may make contact with a vehicle that is parked along the shoulder of a highway, interstate, or road that does not allow parking. In this situation, officers are generally looking for any suspicious activity or making a welfare check (insuring the occupants are safe). In many instances a person that has been drinking and begins to drive realizes that they should “pull over and sleep it off.” Unfortunately, in Colorado, if a person is seated in the driver’s seat and the keys are in the ignition they are deemed in control of the vehicle and may still be issued a drinking and driving charge.