A DUI charge was filed against one Colorado politician recently. Police arrested the state representative for suspicion of DUI on a Thursday night. He also faces charges of misusing license plates and turning improperly.
Police said they pulled over the representative near an intersection for illegally turning. The representative’s speech was reportedly slurred, and his breath smelled like alcohol. His eyes were also bloodshot.
The representative did not have any previous DUI convictions. He was actually a co-sponsor of a bill that passed in 2015 that made a person’s fourth charge of drunk driving in his or her lifetime a felony. The man is expected to make a court appearance in April.
If appropriate to the man’s circumstances, the criminal defense for the man might explore the idea of pursuing a plea deal with the prosecution. A plea agreement may be beneficial in that it might lead to a more lenient sentence compared with what would usually be imposed following a verdict of guilt after trial. The man also has the right to go to trial, forcing prosecutors to prove the formal allegations by evidence that meets exacting requirements in the Colorado criminal justice system. At trial, the DUI charges have to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt or else not conviction can be secured. In either situation, the criminal defense will focus on achieving a result that is in the best interests of the client while simultaneously making sure that the individual’s rights are honored during all stages of the court proceedings.
Source: cpr.org, “Colorado State Lawmaker Faces DUI Charges“, March 18, 2016