It starts with the stop and arrest, followed by a chemical test or a refusal, and the officer typically confiscates your license on the spot and issues a temporary permit. From there, two tracks run in parallel: an administrative DMV process over your license, with a short window to request a hearing, and a separate criminal case that moves through arraignment, pretrial negotiations, and either a plea or a trial.
The administrative track
This is where the license consequences get decided, largely independent of how the criminal case turns out. Missing the hearing request deadline here can mean losing your license even if the criminal charge is later reduced or dismissed.
The criminal track
After arraignment, most cases go through pretrial negotiations, where evidence, testing procedures, and the specifics of the stop all get evaluated. Some cases resolve through a plea agreement or a diversion program, others go to trial if there’s a real dispute worth litigating.
Why the order of decisions matters
Choices made in the first days, whether to refuse testing, whether to request the DMV hearing, what you say to police, shape both tracks for months afterward. That’s exactly why getting an attorney involved early changes the range of realistic outcomes.
What to do next
If you’re facing this in Colorado, call Mile High Legal at (720) 853-5779 for a free consultation. The earlier a defense attorney gets involved, the more options are usually still on the table.
