DENVER — The Colorado Supreme Court ruled against three challenges to the state’s DUI laws, specifically involving the expressed consent law.
According to the law, if a person drives in Colorado, they expressly consent to a blood or breath test to determine blood alcohol content if law enforcement has probable cause the driver committed an alcohol-related offense.
Refusing to give a sample can be used against the driver in a criminal case. The officer is also required to advise the driver of the expressed consent law.
In People v. Simpson, the Supreme Court held that reading a suspect the expressed consent advisement does not render a subsequent chemical test involuntary.
In Fitzgerald v. People, the Colorado Supreme Court upheld that if a driver refuses to give a blood or breath test, it can be used against them in a criminal case.
In People v. Hyde, the Colorado Supreme Court held that an officer with probable cause to believe an unconscious driver has committed an alcohol-related driving offense can order a blood test.
The three defendants in the cases can ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review the cases.