With over 40 years of combined experience defending DUI charges, Kevin Churchill and Josh Landy have represented thousands of clients in Colorado that have been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Experience in the field allows Mr. Churchill and Mr. Landy to uncover the weaknesses in the evidence against you.
We aggressively defend clients accused of all DUI-related charges in Castle Rock and the Denver Metro area. Getting arrested for a DUI can be one of the most stressful events in your life. You can easily feel overwhelmed by the unknowns of how it will affect your life, including criminal penalties, employment, and relationships with others. At this difficult time, you need to feel confident that you are represented by a high-quality attorney who specializes in the unique aspects of DUI cases. Churchill and Landy will help to guide you through this stressful experience, while working to help get you the best possible outcome in your case.
It is important to keep in mind that an arrest for a DUI in Castle Rock or Douglas County can happen to anyone who drinks or uses drugs and drives. It is likely that you know someone else who’s had a DUI arrest. The Castle Rock Police Department averages more than 150 DUI arrests per year, and the Douglas County Sheriff averages 355 DUI arrests per year. The 18th Judicial District (Douglas, Arapahoe, Elbert, and Lincoln Counties) has the third highest number of DUI filings in the state. So, while you may feel embarrassed about your DUI arrest, you are not alone. Kevin Churchill has 25 years of experience handling DUI cases for regular people just like you who have been charged with DUI or DWAI.
The DUI laws in Colorado have changed in recent years, to increase the penalties for people who are convicted of DUI. Therefore, it is critical that you hire an attorney who focuses on DUI cases to get the best representation possible. All DUI convictions have mandatory jail sentences, and the loss of your driver’s license, so the penalties can be very real and quite significant. DUI cases have specialized, technical evidence that is unique from other criminal cases, so having an attorney who specializes in this type of case is paramount. We have been the attorneys for thousands of people in Colorado charged with DUI or DWAI for impairment by alcohol, marijuana, or other drugs. If you are charged with a DUI in Castle Rock, please call us as early as possible to discuss your case. The earlier you have an expert attorney working on your case, the better we can help to guide the process.
Driving under the influence charges involve unique evidence and unique laws that are entirely different from other types of criminal cases. Experienced DUI defense involves knowing the science behind the blood and breath tests, as well as knowing the correct way to perform the standardized procedures in the Field Sobriety Tests. Not only does a DUI attorney need to be an expert in criminal law, but they must have expertise with other laws specific to DUI cases, including whether the traffic stop was legal, whether you were given the correct choices for chemical tests, whether the officer gave you the correct advisements, and what evidence can be used against you.
Our goal is to help to minimize the effects that your’ Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Driving while Ability Impaired (DWAI) arrest has on your life by working to get you the best outcome possible in your case.
The negative effects of getting a DUI should not be understated. You can go to jail, incur significant financial expenses, lose your job, and lose your driver’s license. When possible, we will try to help you to avoid any conviction. If that is not possible, we will then work to help to minimize the legal penalties that you will face. Every DUI conviction leads to a revocation of your driver’s license, but there are ways to get your license reinstated early. There are also options for being able to work at your job while serving your jail time, which is hugely important as it may help to keep you from losing your job. A criminal lawyer who specializes in DUI cases can help you to navigate these complicated factors in your case. If you are facing charges for Driving Under the Influence or Driving While Ability Impaired, it is important that you talk with an attorney who specializes in DUI cases as soon as possible.
When convicted of a DUI, this is a criminal conviction, so you could face substantial jail time, significant fees, and be required to get drug or alcohol treatment. You may also face additional criminal charges, such as child abuse if you have a minor in the car at the time of the offense, or vehicular assault if you had an accident and someone was injured. The severity of the penalties can vary based on the details of your case. A skilled and motivated DUI attorney will work to get your penalties reduced, or even have your charges themselves reduced or dismissed. Research shows that people who hire private attorneys for their DUI cases have better chances of having their charges reduced or dismissed, compared to those who have a public defender or who choose to represent themselves.
The Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) manages the revocation of your driver’s license, and their process is separate from the criminal court process. For many people, losing their license is the most overwhelming consequence of getting arrested for DUI. It can make every aspect of life difficult, including getting to work, picking up kids from school, or just getting to the grocery store. If you took a breathalyzer test to measure your Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) at the time of your arrest, or if you refused a blood and breath test, you have 7 days after arrest to request a DMV hearing about the revocation of your license. If you did a blood test, you have seven days after your results come back to request the hearing. If your license is revoked, there are ways to shorten the length of that revocation if you follow certain guidelines. A knowledgeable DUI attorney can help to guide you through this DMV process.
Some professional licenses have especially significant consequences for having a DUI conviction, examples include:
There can be a large amount of complicated, technical evidence in DUI cases. A typical criminal defense attorney may not know all the details of laws and evidence in this type of case, so hiring a lawyer who focuses on DUI cases can be crucially important. You need an expert in this specialized field to best guide you in making decisions about the outcome of your case.
Defending Castle Rock DUI Charges
A DUI can have many costs, both financial and personal. Financially, it is estimated that a DUI in Colorado costs on average at least $12,000. This includes court costs, loss of income, legal fees, treatment costs, ignition interlock device installation, and higher vehicle insurance fees. Furthermore, a DUI may cause you to lose your job, can damage your reputation, and can negatively affect relationships. It is important not to simply plead guilty because you think your case can’t be won. A skilled DUI lawyer may be able to find reasons to have the case against you dismissed, for example, by finding that there was not a legal reason to pull you over in the first place, or by having evidence otherwise suppressed. A lawyer who specializes in DUI cases could also identify if field sobriety tests were done incorrectly, check if there were issues with your BAC test, recognize when evidence was not collected properly, and look for any other abnormalities in the arrest process. Even if your charges aren’t dropped, identifying these issues can allow your attorney to build reasonable doubt in the case against you, which can help them to negotiate for lesser charges, or less severe penalties.
There are other important factors to consider when hiring a DUI attorney. It can be beneficial to have a local attorney who is familiar with the judges and the District Attorneys, to know how to best negotiate with them on your behalf. Our attorneys have been handling DUI cases in Douglas County for over 20 years. You also want your attorney to dedicate the time and attention to your case that’s necessary to find any potential issues in your case, and Mr. Churchill will do just that. He will personally answer all questions that you have, and will use his years of experience to honestly advise you on your case. Please call our office for a free initial consultation.
Kevin Churchill and Josh Landy at Summit DUI Attorneys have over 40 years of combined experience representing clients in their DUI, DWAI, and DUID cases, and DUI-related DMV hearings. We accept cases in Castle Rock, Douglas county, and throughout the south Metro area.
