E Paso County Colorado DUI Pre-Trial Conferences

FREE ONLINE DUI CASE EVALUATION-CLICK!
Call or text 303-332-3602 anytime

Are You Facing A DUI Charge And You Don't Know What To Do?

We're Attorneys Jim Forslund and Gary Pareja, and we help people just like you who have been arrested for DUI. In fact, almost all of legal work we do concerns DUI.

Let us give you some advice about your case.

It is not a good idea to go to Court alone. Any thing you say to the District Attorney or the Court can be used against you.

On the other hand, If you have an attorney, the Court and the DA cannot talk to you without your attorney present. In addition, anything your attorney says cannot be used against you. And anything you tell your attorney is protected by the attorney client privilege.

If you have an attorney and you are not under bond, your first experience with the justice system is the pretrial conference. The goals of the pre-trial conference are the same in all of the metropolitan county courts, but there are differences in the way they are conducted.

In this first stage the first goal is to determine if the case can be settled without a trial and on what terms. A second goal is to determine what steps should be taken if the matter is set for trial.

Here are matters that are taken into consideration in all jurisdictions, by the prosecutor when making a plea bargain offer:

Prior alcohol offenses, including MIP.
Overall driving record.
The reason you were stopped.
Any accident involved, injury.
How high your BAC was or if you refused.
Your interaction with the police officers.
If your attorney can show proof problems.

But there are also different policies in the various District Attorney's offices that apply to DUI cases.

These are the important things that you need to know.

There are eleven judges who handle DUIs in El Paso County. Five in Fort Collins and two in Loveland. It is all first come first serve, with no deference to lawyers. The conference is held in a conference room just outside the court room or in the courtroom.

Pre-trial's are held in the morning or afternoons of certain days of the week, depending on the judge. There are often long waits in the court room. Your attorney will discuss the case with the prosecutor out of your presence.

Not guilty pleas are entered effective on the arraignment date. Trial must be held within six months.

If you enter a guilty plea to an alcohol offense, you will be referred to an alcohol evaluation and public service. The fine is due at this time if you do not have priors and were not over .20. Payments can be arranged on the fine. Otherwise the judge may have you come back to court after the evaluation.

In-home detention is possible sometimes if you were over .20; jail with work release on a second conviction or higher. El Paso will offer deals if the defendant refuses a blood or breath test or has low BAC.

El Paso County Judicial Building

270 South Tejon Street

Colorado Springs, CO 80903

Directions

Head south on I-25 S

Use the right lane to take exit 142 for Bijou St toward Downtown

Keep right at the fork and merge onto W Bijou St

Turn left onto N Walnut St

Turn left onto Colorado Ave

Turn right onto S Tejon St Destination will be on the right

Hours

Clerk's Office, S101 Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Probation

The 4th Judicial District Probation Department serves El Paso and Teller Counties. We provide supervision of clients sentenced to Probation, complete Pre-sentence Investigation Reports and Alcohol Evaluations as ordered by the court. We have many areas of supervision including DUI

Fourth Judicial District Probation Department

270 South Tejon, Ste. W200

Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903

To contact a probation officer or probation supervisor directly, please call our main phone number and follow the prompts.

Main Phone Number 719-452-5900

For more information see DUI in Colorado.

To contact me, please call at 303-332-3602.

P.S. Your first conference with me is free, and there is no further obligation.

Cites served by El Paso County Court:

Calhan: DUIs are often charged in Calhan traffic stops on US Highway 24 or Calhan Highway.
Colorado Springs: DUIs are often charged in Colorado Springs traffic stops on Interstate 25 or Nevada Avenue.
Fountain: DUIs are often charged in Fountain traffic stops on Interstate 25 or Sante Fe Avenue.
Green Mountain Falls: DUIs are often charged in Green Mountain Falls traffic stops on Belvidere Avenue or Hondo Avenue,
Manitou Springs: DUIs are often charged in Manitou Springs traffic stops on Manitou Avenue or US Highway 24.
Monument: DUIs are often charged in Monument traffic stops on Interstate 25 or Old Denver Road.
Palmer Lake: DUIs are often charged in Palmer Lake traffic stops on Colorado Highway 105 or Epworth Highway.