Some people may erroneously believe that one drunk driving arrest and conviction isn’t a big deal. They figure that, if they are a first-time offender, they will likely get a term of probation at worst as a sentence upon conviction. While that may be true in many cases, a probation sentence is not a “slap on the wrist.” If Colorado residents do not obey the terms of their probation, the consequences may be steep.
For example, a recent report detailed how one woman from Baca County had to address the violation of her own term of probation. According to the reports, the woman was on probation due to a DUI arrest in Colorado, to which she pleaded guilty in October of 2018 and for which she was set to receive a “deferred judgment” if she successfully completed two years of probation. Unfortunately, the woman was reportedly arrested for DUI again in neighboring Kansas less than a year later, in August of 2019.
Recently, on May 7, the woman admitted that she violated her terms of probation in Colorado by getting arrested for the DUI in Kansas. The court in Prowers County revoked the option for the woman to receive a deferred judgment, and entered the conviction for the 2018 Colorado DUI. Now, the reports also state that the woman is set to plead guilty to the Kansas DUI in June of this year. To make all of this worse, the woman in this news report is a judge in Baca County.
DUI arrests are quite common. And, for one-time offenders, probation is a common part of the sentence upon conviction. This recent news story shows just how seriously people should take probation when they are ordered to obey the terms of the court. To attempt to avoid all of these potential consequences and the rigorous requirements of probation supervision, Colorado residents who are charged with DUI may want to explore all their options for a criminal defense strategy.