Phoenix DUI Abogados

Colorado Legislature Wrestles with Presumptive Limits for Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana

Under the current law in Colorado, it is unlawful to drive while impaired or under the influence of marijuana. See C.R.S. section 42-2-1301. Driving under the influence “means driving a motor vehicle or vehicle when a person has consumed alcohol or one or more drugs, or a combination of alcohol and one or more drugs that affects the person to a degree that the person is substantially incapable, either mentally or physically, or both mentally and physically, to exercise clear judgment, sufficient physical control, or due care in the safe operation of a vehicle.” A lesser proof is required to show a person is “driving while ability impaired.”  For this charge, it is enough to show that the person’s ability to drive safely was affected “to the slightest degree.”

In cases of drunk driving, Colorado has already established “presumptive” blood alcohol limits – above .05 BAC (for adults) to establish driving while impaired and .08 to establish driving under the influence.  Up to now, no “presumptive limits” have been established for marijuana or any other drugs. Instead, the only question for jurors is whether the person’s ability to operate a vehicle was actually affected and if so, how much. No legal presumptions apply other than the basic presumption of innocence.

This could change soon.

In November 2000, Colorado voters approved Amendment 20, which allows the use of marijuana within the state for approved patients with written medical consent.  Patients may possess up to two ounces of medical marijuana and, in some cases, more, provided that the prescribing doctor recommends it due to the patient’s specific medical needs.  More recently, in November 2102, voters passed Colorado Amendment 64, which was signed into law on December 10, 2012. Under this amendment, the State of Colorado will not prosecute adults for possessing marijuana for personal recreational use provided that the amount is under one ounce and the marijuana is consumed within a private residence.  In addition, private, noncommercial cultivation of marijuana is legal for up to six plants a year per person.  Nothing in Amendment 20 or 64 allows Colorado residents to drive while impaired or under the influence of marijuana, any more than they could do so while impaired or under the influence of alcohol.

Because of the expected increase in marijuana use and based in part on a recent study that purportedly showed that 13 percent of Colorado traffic fatalities in 2011 were marijuana-related, a bill is pending that would create a new presumptive limit for blood THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) for purposes of driving laws.  A copy of Senate Bill 12-117 can be found here.

Under the proposed legislation, a presumptive THC limit of five nanograms per milliliter will be established, and will allow a “permissible inference,” for the jury to conclude that the defendant was “under the influence” of drugs for purposes of the DUI statute. This is just one more hurdle for any DUI attorney in Denver or Colorado to get past.

Driving Under the Influence of Drugs

Most people don't realize that in most states it's a serious crime to take a picture or film a police officer.  Recording a cop with your cell phone while he's busily beating a helpless citizen, for example, means you go to jail — not the cop!

So….Which offense do you think carries the greatest penalty — rape or recording a cop?

Wrong.  In Illinois, for example, they carry the same sentence: 15 years in prison.   That’s right: using your cell phone to record cops committing crimes can land you in prison for 15 years (although it’s perfectly legal for the cop to record you).

An eye-opening news video entitled "Valley Man Faces 75 Years in Prison for Recording Law Enforcement" documented the plight of Illinois citizen Michael Allison.  Allison was facing 75 years in prison for five counts of openly audio taping public officials – a sentence usually reserved for murderers.  When he sued police for discriminatory law enforcement, the judge at trial refused to provide a court reporter.  Understandably wanting a record of the proceedings, including the cops’ testimony, Allison told the judge he would record them himself.  He was later arrested and the recording confiscated. 

These laws are not limited to Illinois.  Designed to protect cops and public officials from public scrutiny, they exist in many states across the country.  And one has to question why they exist at all in a supposedly free and open society — much less carrying sentences usually reserved for murderers and rapists.  Are cops and officials that afraid of having their conduct exposed to the light?

I wonder if taping a cop in China, Russia or North Korea is punished as severely as in Illinois – if at all?
 

If you were recently stopped and arrested for driving under the influence in Hollywood at a checkpoint or outside a bar or a club, odds are that you encountered police on one of the following locations:

• Alvarado Street and Beverly Boulevard
• Roscoe Boulevard and Noble Avenue
• 77th Street
• Atwater Village

If you indeed got arrested at one of those places, you might be wondering… how did we know that?

The answer is simple: a recent LA Weekly article published the Los Angeles Police Department’s most recent saturation patrols and checkpoint planning. These patrols are designed to nab drivers who are out partying. Note the hours of the patrols (e.g. 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.; 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., etc). These hours are the most “fecund,” if you’re trying to find and arrest drivers under the influence of alcohol in Hollywood or basically anywhere else.

What exactly happens at a DUI checkpoint? Or what’s supposed to happen?

First, police will look for symptoms of Hollywood DUI, which can include but are not limited to: slurred speech, loss of balance, trouble answering officer questions, incongruencies in your answers, strange emotional behavior, bloodshot eyes, loss of words (aphasia), inability of your pupils to follow a light (a.k.a. failure of the horizontal gaze Nystagmus test), and an odor of alcohol on your breath.

These “symptoms” may seem obvious enough. If you saw someone exhibiting some or all of them, you might easily suspect that that person was under the influence.

However, the situation is not always so clear cut!

Imagine you’re driving home on Hollywood Boulevard at 3 a.m. after a long TV show shoot. Your brain is totally fried because you’ve been screaming at your line producer all day. You’re not thinking clearly because the caffeine from all those grande mocha lattes has worn off. So you make up a bad lane change.

And then a police officer stops you and pulls you over.

Even though you haven’t touched alcohol in days, surprisingly enough, you exhibit many so-called “classic” symptoms of DUI, such as bloodshot eyes, inability to remember words, irascibility, perhaps even trouble balancing. If you haven’t eaten in a while, you may look bad or stumble due to blood sugar issues.

Believe it or not, even if you haven’t consumed alcohol, if you’ve been producing ketone bodies – i.e. if you’re diabetic or on a very low calorie or low carb diet – you may register as positive for alcohol consumption on a breathalyzer.

Of course, your situation is possibly different.

Maybe you did indeed drink alcohol — or even do marijuana or take prescription drugs — before you hopped into your vehicle. You want to minimize your penalties and optimize your chances for getting gentle treatment from the court system.

Every Hollywood DUI defendant’s case is a unique puzzle.

You need customized, insightful, and knowledgeable help with the defense. Fortunately, you have a possible ally: Harvard Law School educated Hollywood DUI criminal defense attorney, Michael Kraut. He and his esteemed team can help you battle back against your charges and regain peace of mind.