DUI Defense Attorney

for the Denver Area

DUI Defense for Colorado Healthcare Professionals

Licensed healthcare professionals—such as nurses, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, counselors and veterinarians– face unique challenges when arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while ability impaired (DWAI) in Colorado. First, the criminal case must be defended and resolved favorably. But in most cases, there will also be a self-reporting obligation to a professional board that arises either from the arrest, a conviction, or from the underlying behavioral health issue itself. Healthcare boards scrutinize DUI’s and behavioral health to ensure that patients are safe in the care of the licensed professional. Carefully managing that board evaluation and disciplinary process is essential to preserving the professional license with as few restrictions as possible.

Matt Hand is a Colorado criminal defense attorney who defends licensed healthcare professionals, both from criminal charges and from board discipline. I have defended countless healthcare licensees, such as nurses, doctors, dentists, and therapists. I have won trials or earned dismissals on charges such as felony assault, DUI, indecent exposure, hit and run, attempt murder, harassment, sex assault, domestic violence, and more.

Legal Services and Areas of Service

My criminal defense practice primarily serves Colorado professionals licensed by DORA boards such as the Board of Nursing, Medical Board, Board of Pharmacy, Dental Board, and Board of Veterinary Medicine. I accept criminal cases that do not involve a healthcare license when I have availability.

Colorado DUI Consequences

DUI sentencing varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and from judge to judge, and can depend on whether you are convicted of DUI or the lesser DWAI, on your BAC and many more factors. But the most important factor is the number of prior offenses you have.

In all cases you should expect probation (1-2 years on first offenses, 2-4 years on second and subsequent offenses) that includes extensive alcohol treatment and random UA’s.
In all cases you should expect an order to complete public service—24-48 hours for first DWAI’s, 48-96 hours for 1st DUI’s, and 48-120 hours for second and subsequent offenses (DUI or DWAI).
Fines range from $200 to $1500 depending on the offense, but there are also a variety of court costs imposed, including supervision fees for the probation. Expect to pay for the UA’s and drug/alcohol treatment and monitoring, as well.
On 1^stoffenses, most judges do not give jail, but the law authorizes imposition of 2-180 days for a 1st DWAI, or 5 days to 1 year for a 1st DUI. Except for aggressive judges or aggravated cases, this potential jail is more likely to occur only if the defendant is non-compliant on probation.
On 2^nd offenses, a minimum of 10 days jail is mandatory and the maximum is one year.
On 3^rd offenses, a minimum of 60 days jail is mandatory, and the maximum is one year. Many judges give much more than the minimum on third offenses, some regularly impose the full one year.
Sentencing alternatives exist for 1st through 3rd offenses. For example, some “jail” sentences can be served as in-home detention or work release, if the court approves. (Discuss with your lawyer). These alternatives obviously makes a world of difference to my clients and can become the focus of our efforts. These sentencing alternatives are legally and logistically challenging to obtain and enforce, however, and can become an important part of
4^th and subsequent offenses are charged as felonies, and the sentencing regime becomes more complicated. While there is a serious risk of a prison sentence (up to 6 years on a felony DUI), there are still ways to avoid prison. Jail (minimum 90 days) or work release (min 120 days) followed by probation is disfavored but possible, and I have had success obtaining similar results for clients in and around Denver.
DMV consequences— most DUI cases result in a suspension of the person’s driver’s license for some amount of time, typically up to 9 months or 1 year, but with early reinstatement (conditioned primarily on installation of an interlock device) authorized after one or two months of no driving. The interlock device requirement usually lasts the remainder of the suspension, but can be shortened in some first DUI’s, and must last two years if the person (A) refused chemical testing when compliance was legally required, (B) if the person has had a prior alcohol or drug related driving offense (typically DUI/DWAI), or (C) if the person’s first DUI involved a BAC over .15. DUI defense includes defense of DMV hearing and consequences, though any honest lawyer will tell you that it is usually much harder to win DMV hearings (lower burden of proof for the government, for one reason) than it is to win a DUI jury trial. Still, despite DMV inflexibility and heavy-handedness, we can sometimes win and preserve your license.

Defending DUI Charges in Criminal Court

Frankly, most DUIs are not fully defensible, but an effective DUI lawyer can find weaknesses in the state’s case and use that weakness, along with positive mitigation we organize, to obtain a result that minimizes the DUI’s impact on you and your career.

Sometimes we find big weaknesses in the state’s case, and we are able to work towards a dismissal, or win acquittal at a jury trial. We find those weaknesses by scrutinizing discovery, which includes lab reports, expert opinions, police reports, body worn camera footage, and more. Police mistakes include stopping drivers without the constitutionally mandated reasonable suspicion, or conducting searches without constitutionally mandated probable cause, or otherwise violating the suspect’s rights with regards to chemical testing. Police also regularly jump to conclusions, exaggerate their observations, misinterpret innocent evidence as impairment, and fail to follow their own training about how to conduct roadside sobriety testing. Not every police mistake matters—a good DUI lawyer will not give you false hope about inconsequential matters, but will know how to make the most out of the police mistakes that the law (or juries) recognize as important.

I have prosecuted and defended hundreds of DUI cases and won nearly all of the 20+ DUI trials I’ve fought, from both sides of the courtroom. I have obtained dismissals both on technical legal issues and factual issues like “no drive” cases, where an impaired person was in the driver’s seat but not driving. I can win the winnable cases, and I will fight hard to get you the best resolution in the tougher ones, all while laying the groundwork to protect your nursing or other healthcare license. I have defended many dozens of nurses in front of the Colorado Board of Nursing, on matters great, small, and strange. I have represented doctors and pharmacists with DUI’s, lawyers accused of domestic violence, licensed professional counselors accused of sex crimes, veterinarians charged with drug abuse, and more. I am prepared for all phases of a DUI case, from criminal court to DORA’s healthcare licensing boards.

If you already have a DUI Lawyer

If you already have a criminal defense lawyer for your DUI or other criminal case, I can still help you with reporting and defending your license with the Board of Nursing or other healthcare licensing board. Most DUI defense lawyers have little or no experience with DORA’s professional licensing boards and the administrative law that governs them. They are usually happy to have a specialist get involved. I am available to coordinate with you and your DUI defense lawyer about how to ensure compliance with potential self-reporting obligations and to minimize impacts on your professional license. Self-reporting to the board is usually triggered after the plea or conviction in criminal court (but sometimes sooner, so consult with an attorney), at which time I can take over representation and handle the board case.

DUI Reporting and Consequences with Healthcare Licensing Boards

Each board is different, so consult with a lawyer. Some boards proactively scan public records for evidence of arrests, while most rely primarily on self-reporting. Some boards don’t require self-reports except in special situations. Some boards require a self-report for a DUI but won’t even begin a formal inquiry unless the case is aggravated. The Board of Nursing, one of the more active boards, relies both on self-reporting and public records, and it always creates a formal inquiry when there is a DUI case. But that doesn’t mean that discipline or license restriction is inevitable. The Board will demand a formal response about the DUI case, and it will also order a peer health evaluation to determine the extent of any behavioral health issue. Note that the case inquiry or evaluation might be ordered due to one thing, but the board has jurisdiction to discipline or restrict a license for anything it finds in this process. For one real example, after a marijuana incident, a peer health evaluator determined the professional had no drug problem, but the board decided it wanted to formally treat and monitor the PTSD that came up more casually in the evaluation, despite that PTSD never affecting this licensee’s practice. To this licensee, the cure was worse than the disease. This is just one example of the ways that professionals get blindsided by their boards, and why an attorney is recommended to guide the professional through the process.

There are numerous mitigating and aggravating factors about the DUI that the Board of Nursing or other healthcare board will consider: Was the DUI coming or going from work? Are there prior offenses, or prior incidents at work or with the board that raise similar concerns? Does the DUI reflect an alcohol use disorder, or was this a one-time mistake after a big social event, like a wedding? Did it involve controlled substances? Were children in the car? Was anybody hurt? Does the professional have support and trust of colleagues? Is the professional sober now, and getting treatment? Etc. Our goal is to prepare you for the evaluation, minimize or explain potential aggravating factors, and to present as much collateral information and mitigation as we need to avoid or limit discipline. In situations where we disagree with the board’s evaluation, we can discuss paying for a private evaluation to contest the board’s.

There is a wide range of outcomes in these cases, and some boards are more aggressive than others. The touchstone is always the board’s perception of the professional’s safety to practice. Sometimes we reassure the board and the board case is dismissed without discipline. If there is discipline, it usually takes the form of treatment and monitoring with a peer health provider like Peer Assistance Services. These requirements can be surprisingly lengthy and burdensome, especially for professionals with multistate practices or who work in niches (home healthcare, for one example) that are not easily supervised to the board’s standards. In aggravated cases, suspension, revocation, or additional censure or restrictions are possible. Most discipline is public, but occasionally we can obtain confidential resolutions. Though many of these cases can resolve favorably for the professional, there are numerous potential pitfalls, so consult with an attorney.

To schedule a free phone consultation,
please email: matt@handlaw.com

Include your phone number and basic information about the allegations against you. For professional license cases, attaching a PDF of the complaint is best, but at least indicate what license you hold and any upcoming deadline. For criminal cases, indicate what charges you are facing, plus the next court date and location. I will respond promptly. All emails and consultation with me are confidential.