A DUID charge was recently filed against one man in Colorado who was believed to have been driving while under the influence of drugs. However, the man facing the DUID charge was acquitted. This occurred even though a blood test reportedly showed that the 27-year-old man had more than the legal limit of the chemical THC in his body.
The man’s arrest took place when police pulled him over after seeing that one of his vehicle’s headlights was out. The man then took a voluntary roadside sobriety test, after which police said they thought he had been driving while under the influence of marijuana. He was then taken into custody and charged with driving under the influence of drugs.
During a trial, the attorney of the man said that the man was totally capable of driving even though he was over the legal limit. The jury took less than half an hour to deliberate before coming back with a not-guilty verdict. The man’s attorney emphasized that marijuana is different from alcohol, saying that a person can drive after consuming marijuana as long as he or she is not impaired.
When a person is accused of DUID in Colorado, it is within his or her rights to proceed to trial to fight the charges. At trial, the government has to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, and, if this does not happen, no criminal conviction can be handed down against the accused. A person facing a DUID charge may also be given the option of negotiating a plea deal with the prosecution, which may result in a lighter sentence than what would result following a guilty verdict at trial. The criminal defense will ultimately seek the most favorable outcome for the client in this type of criminal case.
Source: CBS Denver, “Man Arrested For Driving Under Influence Of Pot Acquitted“, Melissa Garcia, March 4, 2016