Drinking, Driving In Colorado
A Colorado attorney was suspended for 60 days for misconduct summarized here.
In January 2013, [the attorney], who was under the influence of alcohol, was involved in an automobile accident. [She] refused any testing of her blood, breath, saliva, or urine. She was arrested and charged. After her arrest, [she] checked into a thirty-day inpatient treatment program. Intake notes from the program indicate that [she] had not achieved any lengthy period of sobriety since 2008, even though she had earlier told investigators for the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel that she was sober from 2008 until late 2012.
In June 2013, [the attorney] pleaded guilty to one charge of driving while ability impaired. This was [her] third DUI-related conviction; she also had been convicted of DUI in 1995 and 2008. [She] was sentenced to 180 days’ work release; mental health evaluation and treatment; a complete victim impact panel; no alcohol or drugs; substance abuse monitoring; payment of fees and costs; and education and therapy. [She] was permitted to complete her work release through Boulder Community Treatment Center. In December 2013, however, [she] refused to participate in a scheduled independent medical examination, and her work release was revoked when she violated the terms and conditions of her residency at the Center by failing to take certain prescribed medicines. She was jailed, only to be released in mid-March 2014.
Another Colorado attorney was suspended for 30 days and must petition for reinstatement.
In 1991, [the attorney] was convicted of one count of driving while impaired by alcohol. In 1996, [he] was convicted of one count of driving a vehicle with a blood alcohol level of 0.10 or more. [He] believes he failed to report both of these convictions to the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel.
On November 17, 2013, [the attorney] drove home after consuming alcohol. According to [him], as he made a left-hand turn an oncoming car failed to stop at the intersection, and he swung his car wide and drove up onto the curb, stopping against a light pole. [He] refused to respond to law enforcement questions and instructions, perform roadside maneuvers, or submit to breath or blood alcohol tests. Later, after changing his mind, a preliminary breath test registered [his] breath alcohol content at 0.203. [He] pleaded guilty to one count of driving while ability impaired and was sentenced to one year in jail, all but ninety days suspended pending compliance with two years’ probation. He was also ordered to attend alcohol education sessions and therapy, undergo drug testing, and perform community service.
In both matters, the Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved conditional admissions of misconduct. (Mike Frisch)