Joe Maher and the Maher Legal team have successfully challenged a Covid-era Colorado Springs Police Department policy that effectively denied DUI suspects due process under the law. El Paso County courts continue to dismiss DUI charges or suppress wrongfully obtained blood evidence due to this issue into September of 2021.
CSPD COVID POLICY
You may recall that during the Covid pandemic shutdown – a deputy police chief with CSPD made the decision to only offer blood tests to DUI suspects (as opposed the normal choice of breathalyzer OR blood test). Colorado Springs was one of the few jurisdictions in the state who did this, CSPD left the policy in place longer than any other jurisdiction in El Paso County, and it wasn’t vetted by public health officials to determine if it was necessary as a matter of medical safety for first responders. Attorney Joe Maher of Maher & Maher Law determined this deprived citizen of their rights under the law and led the fight with other colleagues to address this issue as a violation of rights. Joe took to the streets and questioned law enforcement officials, requested and received confidential emails through the open records act and even went so far as to subpoena Police leaders and state health officials to court.
HOW THIS IMPACTS PENDING DUI CASES
This issue is significant and impacts any CSPD DUI case that occurred after mid-May 2020 where CSPD required the motorist to submit to a blood test when normally the motorist would have had the option to elect a breath or blood test. Recent court rulings have held that DUI charges during this time could either be dismissed or the blood evidence could be suppressed, leaving little to no actual evidence to support a conviction. A panel of El Paso county judges sat in on the testimony of witnesses during the original case dealing with this issue that Joe and his colleagues litigated. Joe says he has only ever seen this happen in one other matter in his 10 years as a prosecutor as well as a defense attorney. It is that rare. Many private defense attorneys and the Public Defenders are beginning to file motions on this issue.
To put this into context, CSPD has on average approximately 4,000 DUI calls for service in a year. Even if half of these stops fall into this scenario, that is 2,000 cases that are impacted. Could your case be one of them?
WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW?
Every case is different and requires a committed attorney with significant experience in DUI litigation and tenacity. Joe Maher understands the issues and fights for you on the merits of your case – as well as on legal structure, policy and procedure. Joe isn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with the legal establishment to ensure his clients receive the best representation possible. Constitutional and statutory rights are guaranteed and can’t be re-written, ignored or side-stepped no matter what the current circumstances. Police departments, District Attorneys and other law enforcement agencies must maintain policies that protect individual rights. The Maher & Maher Law team will dig deeper and fight harder for YOU. Call us to help ensure you have the best representation possible. Call (719.301.7500) or text (719.424.0057) Maher & Maher Law today for a free consultation.