PT2M29S
“One of many possible defenses uh to a DUI is whether there is any issues with the investigation. That's actually a really big factor, especially in a DUI case. Because the officer was the primary witness to the DUI, they have certain things that they need to do correctly. And if they don't do it correctly, that can have a huge impact on the case.”
“So, there's always ways to undermine the police officer's investigation, their thoroughess, their due diligence. And if they didn't take certain steps the right way, sometimes we can bring it to what's called a motions hearing and basically have the judge make a legal determination that they either violated your rights or that they did not do the proper investigation and therefore either evidence needs to be suppressed or the case needs to be dismissed.”
“The chemical testing, it needs to be done within 2 hours of having actual physical control over the vehicle. Um, if it's not done within 2 hours of actual physical control, um, that can affect the case in a number of different ways. First, on the DMV side of things, that's enough reason for the DMV to actually dismiss the case on their side, which means that it may be possible to keep your license. On the criminal side, it doesn't generally result in a full dismissal of the case, but it does go to the weight of the evidence and whether that test can be taken as being scientifically valid at that point. Uh so it does absolutely go to the significance of the evidence and how much it may play a role in the jury's mind.”
“So actual physical control is the definition of driving in Colorado when it comes to driving under the influence charges. So it's not always what people think when you know if you are driving down the street you know you're in actual physical control of the vehicle. But actual physical control is more than that from a legal perspective. So, there's situations in which maybe you're sitting in the front seat, uh, the keys are in the ignition, but the car is not on. Well, a lot of times that can be considered actual physical control”
“and you have to take it on on a case-by case basis, but it's it's really fact dependent on when somebody is actually in control of the vehicle for purposes of the DUI statute. And there's all sorts of situations in which that can come up. And maybe intuitively, you know that you're you're not driving or it doesn't make sense that you should be considered to be driving. Um but it is a different question uh under the law as to whether you have actual physical control of the of the vehicle uh for the DUI statute.”
“The chemical testing, it needs to be done within 2 hours of having actual physical control over the vehicle.”
“So actual physical control is the definition of driving in Colorado when it comes to driving under the influence charges.”
“Because the officer was the primary witness to the DUI, they have certain things that they need to do correctly. And if they don't do it correctly, that can have a huge impact on the case.”