According to our Constitution, every American is entitled to a defense. Our criminal justice system is structured such that it doesn’t matter so much whether the person is guilty or not guilty – what matters is whether the prosecution can prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
In other words, when I am considering taking on a new client in the areas of DUI and criminal cases, I’m less concerned with whether someone is definitively guilty or not guilty and more concerned with figuring the best way to resolve the case or, if the case is going to trial, the best defense to present.
The goal is to obtain the best possible result for the client and to assist the client in moving forward with his/her life.
It’s Not Black and White
As a society, we are quick to judge others when they are convicted of something like a DUI. But in my experience, things really are rarely as cut and dry as we’d like to imagine they are.
Here’s a war story:
A business woman came to Boulder for business. One night while she was walking down the Pearl Street Mall, she was followed by a homeless person who yelled at her and knocked her down. To get away from him, she ducked into a bar – and, feeling shaken, had one too many drinks to try and calm down. [She thought she was going to meet people to go to the movies, so she wouldn’t have to drive.] When she was stood up for the movies and after her judgment was impaired, she decided to drive herself the short distance to the hotel.
Surprise: she was pulled over on the way home, flunked the roadside test and was arrested for DUI.
When she came to me and I looked at the situation, I saw that she is a good person who made a mistake. She has a good job, it was her first offense, and, even though the video of her taking (and failing) the roadsides clearly showed that she is drunk, she was constitutionally entitled to a valid defense.
Based on the arresting officer’s failure to comply with the statute, I got the blood test excluded from evidence. Since the prosecution couldn’t prove the DUI without the test, she got a far improved offer and now has a chance to recover from the infraction and get back to her life.
We didn’t break the rules, we didn’t lie, we didn’t cheat. We played by the rules of the game – and we won the game. I feel confident that this client won’t ever drink and drive again.
People Make Mistakes
Mistakes are a fact of life. You make them, I make them, everybody makes them, and everybody is entitled to have the best defense possible when they have to go to Court.
This isn’t a monarchy, where, if the king doesn’t like you, he’ll throw you in prison for 20 years and forget about you. We set up a system where we’d rather let 100 criminals go free than lock up one innocent person.
The system is set up the way it is, and I play as hard as I can play within the system.
If you are looking for an attorney to help you with your DUI or family law case, call our offices at 303-449-1873 for a free consultation. We’ll meet and find out if it’s a good fit.