How To Get A DUI Dismissed In Colorado

DUI Dismissed In Colorado

Most people charged with a DUI in Colorado assume the case is already decided after the traffic stop.

• They blew over 0.08 on a breathalyzer.
• The officer wrote the report.
• What is there to argue?

More than you think.

Colorado DUI cases are built on evidence that is frequently collected wrong, measured by machines that require strict maintenance, and documented by officers who don’t always follow the rules. A conviction requires the state to prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt.

That means a single procedural failure, a miscalibrated machine, or an unlawful stop can make the entire case fall apart.

Jeremy Loew spent years as a prosecutor in Colorado. He knows how DUI cases are built. He knows where they crack.

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Dismissed vs. Reduced: Know the Difference

A full dismissal means the charges are dropped entirely – no conviction, no record, no penalties. That is the best possible outcome and it happens more often than defendants expect when the evidence is properly challenged.

A reduction in charges is the more common strategic win. Colorado recognizes a charge called DWAI (Driving While Ability Impaired), which covers BAC levels between 0.05 and 0.079. A DUI reduced to DWAI carries lighter penalties, fewer license points, and significantly less impact on employment background checks.

You may also hear the term “wet reckless,” a reckless driving charge that reflects alcohol involvement. Still a win compared to a DUI conviction.

The goal is always dismissal. The realistic outcome depends entirely on what the evidence shows and how aggressively it is challenged.

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Challenge 1: The Stop Was Illegal

Every DUI case begins with a  Under the Fourth Amendment, an officer must have reasonable articulable suspicion of a traffic violation or criminal activity before pulling you over. If that justification doesn’t exist or can’t be documented, the stop is unconstitutional.

When a stop is illegal, the suppression doctrine applies. Any evidence gathered after that stop – breathalyzer results, field sobriety tests, statements you made – gets thrown out.

The state has no case.

Colorado Springs officers will cite lane drift, a broken taillight, or failure to signal as the basis for a stop. The question is whether those observations are documented accurately and consistently with dashcam footage.

Inconsistencies between the officer’s report and video evidence are more common than most defendants realize.

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Challenge 2: Field Sobriety Tests Are Designed to Be Questioned

The three standardized field sobriety tests used in Colorado – the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN), the Walk-and-Turn, and the One-Leg Stand – were developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). NHTSA published strict administration protocols. Officers are supposed to follow them exactly.

They frequently don’t.

Instructions have to be given a specific way. The surface must be reasonably dry and level. The lighting conditions matter. A defendant’s footwear matters. Pre-existing injuries, inner ear conditions, anxiety, and even simple nervousness can produce every “clue” an officer is trained to flag as impairment.

More important: field sobriety tests are voluntary in Colorado. You are not legally required to perform them. Most people don’t know that. Most people comply because an officer in the dark, on the side of I-25, does not present compliance as optional.

If the tests were improperly administered, the results can be challenged. If they were the only basis for probable cause to arrest, the arrest itself becomes questionable.

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Challenge 3: The Intoxilyzer 9000 Has Rules

Colorado uses the Intoxilyzer 9000 as its evidentiary breath testing device. This is not the handheld unit the officer uses on the roadside – that device is a preliminary screener and is not admissible as evidence of BAC.

The Intoxilyzer 9000 is the machine at the station, and its results carry real weight in court.

That weight depends entirely on the machine working correctly.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) mandates strict calibration and maintenance requirements for every Intoxilyzer 9000 in use. The machine must be calibrated on a documented schedule. The operator must hold a current permit issued by CDPHE. The reference solution used to verify accuracy must be within its valid period.

If any of those requirements aren’t met, the BAC reading is inadmissible. The state’s primary evidence disappears.

These records are public. They can be subpoenaed. Calibration failures, expired operator certifications, and missed maintenance cycles appear in discovery more often than the state would prefer.

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Challenge 4: Blood Draw Evidence Is Fragile

When a breathalyzer isn’t used – or when a defendant refuses – the state draws blood. Blood evidence feels more scientific and more final than a breath test. It isn’t.

Chain of custody is the standard that governs blood evidence. Every transfer of the sample – from the phlebotomist to the evidence officer to the crime lab – must be documented without gaps. The sample must be properly sealed, labeled, and refrigerated within a specific timeframe.

If refrigeration is delayed, blood ferments. Fermentation produces ethanol. Ethanol artificially raises the BAC reading in a sample that was properly drawn. A defendant whose actual BAC was 0.09 at the time of the draw could test at 0.12 or higher in a lab if the sample was mishandled.

The crime lab analyst must be certified. The testing methodology must meet scientific standards. Errors at any stage – collection, transport, storage, analysis – are grounds to challenge the result or suppress the evidence entirely.

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Challenge 5: Rising Blood Alcohol

Your body absorbs alcohol continuously after your last drink. BAC rises during the absorption phase and peaks roughly 30 to 90 minutes after consumption, depending on body weight, food intake, and other factors.

This creates a genuine legal problem for the prosecution.

The law in Colorado requires that the state prove your BAC was at or above 0.08 while you were driving, not when you were tested at the station. If you had your last drink shortly before driving, your BAC may have still been rising when you got behind the wheel. By the time the officer administered the breathalyzer – 45 minutes after the stop, after processing, after paperwork – you may have crossed the legal threshold during that window.

This defense requires expert testimony to establish the absorption timeline. It is not a hail mary – it is a documented pharmacological phenomenon that Colorado courts have accepted as a legitimate challenge to BAC evidence.

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The Prosecutor’s Advantage

What makes this firm different is not just that Jeremy Loew has defended DUI cases. He has prosecuted them.

He knows which evidence the state relies on most heavily. He knows what discovery to subpoena, which maintenance logs to pull, which CDPHE certification records to request. He knows the difference between a case the El Paso County DA’s office will fight for and one they will negotiate.

That knowledge changes what’s possible in your defense.

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Don’t Plead Guilty Before We Review the Evidence

A DUI conviction in Colorado means mandatory fines, a license suspension, potential jail time, increased insurance rates, and a permanent criminal record. The consequences compound across years.

Before you accept any outcome – before you plead guilty, before you take a plea deal you don’t understand – have the evidence reviewed by someone who knows where it breaks.

Contact the Law Office of Jeremy Loew for a case review. There is no obligation. There may be more to argue than you think.