The General Assembly is currently debating whether they should sign in House Bill 1077. House Bill 1077 would be instrumental in changing current laws regarding DUI, DUI per se, and DWAI arrests. The bill would allow drivers to challenge the validity of the law enforcement officer’s initial contact with the driver at Department of Revenue (DOR) driver’s license revocation hearings. The hearing officer will consider these issues when a driver raises them as defenses.
The bill was proposed after the Colorado Court of Appeals decision in Francen v. Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles, __P.3d __ , (Colo. App. no. 12CA110). The court of appeals ruled that the lawfulness of the initial stop of a motorist is irrelevant for purposes of Colorado’s express consent law. This ruling overturned many years of case law, which allowed the law enforcement officer’s initial contact to be challenged.
The General Assembly is currently debating whether they should sign in House Bill 1077. House Bill 1077 would be instrumental in changing current laws regarding DUI, DUI per se, and DWAI arrests. The bill would allow drivers to challenge the validity of the law enforcement officer’s initial contact with the driver at Department of Revenue (DOR) driver’s license revocation hearings. The hearing officer will consider these issues when a driver raises them as defenses.
The bill was proposed after the Colorado Court of Appeals decision in Francen v. Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles, __P.3d __ , (Colo. App. no. 12CA110). The court of appeals ruled that the lawfulness of the initial stop of a motorist is irrelevant for purposes of Colorado’s express consent law. This ruling overturned many years of case law, which allowed the law enforcement officer’s initial contact to be challenged.