Carl Ceder - CO Man’s 16th DUI Charge Prompts Felony DUI Law

1. CO Man’s 16th DUI Charge Prompts Felony DUI Law Debate Carl Ceder

2. The 16th driving under the influence charge of a Colorado man has encouraged state legislators to reconsider their drunken driving laws. • In November, a grand jury in Colorado has indicted Denny Lovern, 57, on multiple charges that are related with this latest DUI-related accident. Lovern admitted he had too much to drink and shouldn’t have been operating a motor vehicle. • The jury indicted Lovern on 9 charges, which included attempted first-degree assault and attempted manslaughter. • According to the eighteenth Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler, this case is the first one his office has pursued from chronic DUI offender. • Colorado is one of five states in the US, plus Washington D.C., that does not have a felony DUI law. In Colorado, the most severe penalty on the books for a DUI charge is one year in the county jail. The other states that lack a DUI felony law are Maryland, Maine, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. • Under these particular circumstances, Colorado prosecutors can bring felony DUI charges against an offender if the charge is joint with a traffic offender indictment. • In Lovern’s case, he wasn’t charged with an HTO because he had reinstated his license with the DMV. • Representative Mark Waller proposed a felony DUI law twice, only to have the bill not pass. There are some legislators that feel that there isn’t enough data to encourage a felony DUI law in order to make Colorado streets safer.