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Boulder Felony DUI Lawyer

Any type of alcohol or drug-related driving conviction can overturn your entire life. Suddenly, you are unable to get to work, pick up your kids from school or even run errands. If this is your fourth or subsequent driving under the influence or driving while ability impaired conviction, the consequences are also significantly steeper as you are now facing a felony-level driving under the influence charge. You need a Boulder felony DUI lawyer on your side.

Do not assume that you have no options with a felony level DUI, DUID or DWAI charge. You do. Even if you have had multiple convictions for driving under the influence in the past, you still have legal rights. At Dolan + Zimmerman LLP, we have taken on hundreds of driving under the influence, driving while ability impaired, DUID and drunk driving cases. We will take the necessary steps that make the most sense for your situation, whether that be negotiating a plea bargain or defending you in a jury trial.

Mandatory Sentencing In Felony Driving Under The Influence Or Driving While Ability Impaired Cases

If you are convicted of a fourth or subsequent driving under the influence (DUI), driving under the influence of drugs (DUID), or driving while ability impaired (DWAI) in Colorado, the judge in your case is required to impose certain specific conditions as part of your sentence. This means that if you are convicted you will have to serve time in prison or on probation. If you are sentenced to probation, you will be required to serve time in, jail or, in certain cases, a jail alternative such as work release.

The following are presumptive mandatory sentences for people convicted of driving under the influence for a fourth or subsequent offense and sentenced to a period of probation in lieu of prison:

  • 90 to 180 days in jail: If the judge sentences you to probation, you will serve between 90 and 180 days in the county jail. You will not be eligible for good time or other deductions during the initial 90-day period of imprisonment.
  • 120 days to two years of work release: If a work release program is part of your sentence, you will be required to serve 120 days to two years in an approved work release facility. You will not be eligible for good time or other deductions during the initial 120-day period of any work release sentence.
  • Community service: In addition to time spent in jail, you also need to complete between 48 and 120 hours of community service.
  • Other mandatory conditions: In addition to any other conditions imposed, a probationary sentence for felony DUI or DWAI must include required attendance at an approved drug or alcohol education and treatment program, and may include other conditions such as an additional period of probation, the use of an approved ignition interlock device, and submission to alcohol or drug monitoring.

If the court, after considering the facts and circumstances of your case, determines that all other reasonable and appropriate sanctions have been exhausted and that imprisonment is the only available option, the court may impose a sentence of two to six years in prison. If you are sentenced to prison, the court must also impose a mandatory three-year period of parole.

In addition to the mandatory sentencing that comes with a felony DUI or DWAI, you are also facing driver’s license suspension through an administrative process and through the court system and higher insurance rates. If convicted, you will have a felony on your record.

Understand Your Options

Too many people assume that there isn’t much they can do after a felony DUI or DWAI arrest. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Even if previous DUI or DWAI cases did not go the way you wanted, know that this is an entirely new case with a whole new set of circumstances. Past cases handled by other attorneys do not need to dictate the outcome of this case.

At Dolan + Zimmerman LLP, we will look at your case with a fresh set of eyes and make realistic recommendations on how to best proceed. For more information, contact our law firm to speak with our Boulder defense lawyers today at 303-593-1874.