University of Colorado Law School Colorado Law Scholarly Commons Articles Colorado Law Faculty Scholarship 1993 There Must Be Fifty Ways to Lose Your (Driver's) License H. Patrick Furman University of Colorado Law School Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/articles Part of the Administrative Law Commons, Criminal Law Commons, Criminal Procedure Commons, and the State and Local Government Law Commons Citation Information H. Patrick Furman, There Must Be Fifty Ways to Lose Your (Driver's) License, 22 COLO. LAW. 2385 (1993), available at https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/articles/795. Copyright Statement Copyright protected. Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Colorado Law Faculty Scholarship at Colorado Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles by an authorized administrator of Colorado Law Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. +(,121/,1( Citation: 22 Colo. Law. 2385 1993 Provided by: William A. Wise Law Library Content downloaded/printed from HeinOnline Mon Jul 17 19:06:24 2017 -- Your use of this HeinOnline PDF indicates your acceptance of HeinOnline's Terms and Conditions of the license agreement available at http://heinonline.org/HOL/License -- The search text of this PDF is generated from uncorrected OCR text. -- To obtain permission to use this article beyond the scope of your HeinOnline license, please use: Copyright Information CRIMINAL LAW NEWSLETTER U There Must Be Fifty Ways to Lose Your (Driver's) License by H. Patrick Furman T he typical Colorado driver has under age eighteen (a minor driver) will driver is subsequently convicted of a little inkling of the variety of be suspended on the accumulation of six charge arising out of the same incident reasons for which the Motor points in twelve months or seven points and is subject to another revocation be- Vehicle Division ("DMV") can during the life of the license.1 cause of that conviction (such as for hav- suspend, revoke or deny a driver's li- Points are counted against a license ing accumulated too many points or hav- cense. Even lawyers who regularly prac- as of the date of the offense, not the date ing sustained two alcohol convictions in tice in traffic court have trouble keeping of conviction, even though the actual as- five years), the subsequent revocation up with the bewildering array ofjustifi- sessment of points cannot occur until must be consecutive to the express con- cations for DMV action against a driv- there is a conviction. 2 The number of sent revocation.9 A person whose license er's license. points assessed for the various offenses is revoked under this provision is not el- Given the fact that a driver's license is is set forth in CRS § 42-4-123(5). Convic- igible for a probationary license, no mat- often important for work, school, day care tion, as used in this statute, includes a ter how great the need for such a license. 10 and a variety of other purposes, it is es- traditional conviction, a traffic infrac- If the driver takes the chemical test sential for both prosecutors and defense tion conviction or default judgment,3 a but fails it by having a blood alcohol con- lawyers to have as complete an under- plea of nolo contendere and a conviction tent of .10 or greater, the DMV must re- of a municipal ordinance which is sub- voke the license." The period of revoca- standing as possible of the consequences 4 their actions can have on a client's driv- stantially similar to a state statute. tion is three months for the first revoca- er's license. This article summarizes the An excess of points results in a sus- tion and twelve months for any subse- ways in which a license can be denied, pension (rather than a revocation) of the quent revocations. Just as with a revo- suspended or revoked. The article does driving privilege, meaning that the driv- cation based on a refusal to take a chem- not cover the special rules which are ap- er may apply for a probationary license ical test, a driver revoked under this pro- plicable to chauffeurs and truck drivers. enabling him or her to drive to and from vision is not eligible for a probationary li- such places as work, school and day cense.12 Point Suspension Revocations care.5 The maximum length of a suspen- sion ordered pursuant to this authority Specific Offense Conviction Colorado assesses points for almost 6 all traffic convictions, and the most well- is one year. Revocation known way to lose a license is to accu- Conviction of certain offenses, or com- mulate too many points. The license of a Express Consent Revocations binations of offenses, carries with it an driver who is age twenty-one or older Colorado's express consent law is de- automatic revocation whether or not the will be suspended on the accumulation signed to aid law enforcement in the de- conviction results in the driver having ac- of twelve points in twelve months or tection and apprehension of drivers who cumulated too many points. Most of the eighteen points in twenty-four months. are under the influence of, or impaired offenses are traffic offenses, while others The license of a driver who is age eight- by, the ingestion of alcohol or other are related to the use or regulation of mo- een or older, but less than twenty-one (a drugs. The law is designed to encourage tor vehicles and a few are simply expres- provisional driver) will be suspended on drivers to submit to a chemical test of sions of public policy. The offenses are set the accumulation of nine points in twelve their blood or breath (or, when drug use forth in CRS § 42-2-122. months, twelve points in twenty-four is suspected, a urinalysis) to determine months or fourteen points during the alcohol content. It also penalizes drivers who refuse to take a chemical test or life of the license. The license of a driver 7 who take such a test but fail it. This newsletter is prepared by the Pursuant to the express consent law, CriminalLaw Section of the Colorado Column Ed.: H. Patrick Furman, the DMV must revoke for twelve months Bar Association. This month's column University of Colorado School of the license of a driver who refuses to take was written by column editor H. 8 Law, Boulder-(303) 492-8126 a chemical test of blood or breath. If that PatrickFurman. THE COLORADOLAWYER / NOVEMBER1993 /VOL. 22, No. 11 / 2385 2386 CRIMINAL LAW NEWSLETTER November 2386CRIMINAL LAW NEWSLETTER November As far as pure traffic offenses are con- judication for such acts also is consid- Except as specifically noted above, cerned, the statute mandates revocation ered a triggering conviction.17 revocations under CRS § 42-2-122 are for on a conviction of either (1) driving un- A revocation under this section is a period of one year. Actual reinstate- der the influence of a controlled sub- three months on the first conviction and ment of the privilege to drive on the ex- stance or habitual user of a controlled one year on a second or subsequent con- piration of the period of revocation is dis- substance13 (which carries a mandatory viction.18 The Colorado Supreme Court cussed below. one-year revocation 4) or (2) failing to recently upheld the constitutionality of Other statutes also provide for a li- render aid in a traffic accident involving this portion of the revocation statute cense revocation. A conviction for failure death or personal injury15 It also man- against an attack that it amounted to a to provide proof of insurance 23 requires dates revocation on three reckless driv- seizure of property and that there was indefinite suspension unless the driver ing convictions within two years, two no nexus between the commission of provides proper proof of insurance to the DUI/DWAI/DUI per se convictions with- these offenses and a person's driver's li- DMV within twenty days of the notice of in five years and three DUI/DWAI/DUI cense. 19 The court held that the right to suspension. Such a suspension remains per se convictions in any time period. drive is not a fundamental right and in effect until the driver provides proof of The last-described revocation must be that the seizure of licenses is reasonably financial responsibility.24 A conviction of an indefinite suspension of no less than related to the legitimate government ob- misuse of licenses, titles, permits or li- two years. The driver may not be rein- jective of preventing the use or sale of cense plates or the permission of such un- stated until he or she has completed a controlled substances because it punish- lawful use authorizes the DMV to deny a Level II alcohol and drug education and es and deters offenders. license to an otherwise qualified appli- 25 treatment program and passed the reg- cant. ular license test. This section also pro- vides that a minor's license shall be re- Habitual Traffic Offender voked on a first DUI/DWAI/DUI per se Revocations "The statutes relating to the 26 conviction. The habitual traffic offender statute Driving-related convictions that sub- denial, suspension, revocation is designed to provide maximum safety ject a driver to revocation are: and reinstatement of driver's on the roads, deter repeat offenders and 1) vehicular homicide, CRS § 18-3- licenses are confusing and impose severe sanctions on drivers whose 106; traffic record demonstrates "their indif- 2) vehicular assault, CRS § 18-3-205; occasionally contradictory." ference to the safety and welfare of others 3) criminally negligent homicide and their disrespect for the laws of this while driving a vehicle, CRS § 18- state ...