What Are Alternatives to DUI Sentencing in Colorado Springs?

Are You Eligible for Alternatives to Jail Time?

Under Colorado law, if you are convicted of a DUI offense, you may be eligible for alternatives to jail time, or a shorter sentence. The process of seeking alternative sentencing requires assistance from a DUI defense attorney who can persuasively negotiate one of these alternatives on your behalf.

The options that may be available as an alternative to incarceration include:

Work Release Programs

In some cases of DUI, a work release program can be approved as an alternative. These programs allow you to go to work and attend other approved activities and then return to jail. This alternative can allow you to continue to work and earn a living while serving your sentence for DUI. The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office must approve the offender who is seeking this alternative.

You will be required to pay a nominal fee ($22/day) to participate in this program and will return to the El Paso County Jail after work. After 75% of the sentence has been completed, if eligible, you can be placed on “Non-Custodial Work Release” status, in which you return home after work, monitored by a GPS tracking device.

Community Service

Some people who are convicted of a DUI offense will be eligible for community service as an alternative to jail time, or to reduce time spent behind incarcerated in county jail. These programs are geared to allow the convicted person to contribute to the community by performing useful public labor, such as trash pickup and other activities.

All first time misdemeanor DUI convictions include community service, with the number of hours required to complete the sentence varying from 48 to 96 hours. A second DUI conviction will require up to 120 hours of community service. You are required to pay a fee to participate in these programs.

Home Detention

Some people convicted of a DUI offense in Colorado Springs may be eligible for home detention, or “house arrest.” If you have a prior conviction for a DUI offense or the BAC (blood alcohol concentration) was .20 or higher, you will be required to serve some time in jail. Your attorney can pursue this alternative if you meet the eligibility requirements.

Terms of Probation for DUI

Some DUI offenders are eligible for probation or a deferred sentence. The probation sentence includes the following terms:

• Mandatory attendance to alcohol abuse classes
• Community service
• Pay fines and court costs
• Attendance at a MADD Victim Impact Panel
• Random alcohol and drug testing
• No alcohol or drug use during the term of probation

When is Jail Time Mandatory?

Some DUI convictions come with mandatory jail time. These include:

• A DUI after a prior conviction within five years
• BAC at .20 or more within two hours of operating a vehicle, 5 days to 1 year
• A DUI accident that caused injuries or death

Your DUI Defense Lawyer in Colorado Springs: The Bussey Law Firm, P.C.

Attorney Timothy Bussey, the founder of The Bussey Law Firm, P.C., is one of only two attorneys in Colorado who has achieved the ACS Forensic Lawyer-Scientist designation. He is certified to operate and maintain the Intoxilyzer 5000, the breathalyzer machine used in the area, and is a certified NHTSA field Sobriety Test Instructor, as well as being certified in Forensic Chromatography (blood sample testing in DUI cases).

After being accused of a DUI or DWAI offense you face the real risk of jail time and other penalties. As a former member of the US Air Force, and a dedicated and talented DUI defense lawyer, you can trust that every option, including a dismissed charge, reduced sentence, alternative sentence, or an acquittal at trial will be aggressively pursued.

Call The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. today at (719) 475-2555 for a free case evaluation.

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