Custer County DUI Court Process
Complete guide to arraignment, court dates, plea options, and what to expect during your DUIcase in Custer County.
Court Information
Custer County General Sessions Court
Court Day Checklist
Required Documents
Day-Of Reminders
Tip: Screenshot or print this checklist. Check items off as you prepare the night before.
Court Process Timeline
Arraignment
First court appearance, typically within 24-48 hours after arrest.
What Happens:
- Judge reads charges against you
- You enter initial plea (usually Not Guilty)
- Bail is set or reviewed
- Next court date is scheduled
- Public defender appointed if needed
Pre-Trial Hearings
Multiple court dates over 2-6 months where your attorney negotiates with prosecutors.
Attorney Activities:
- Review police reports and evidence
- File motions to suppress evidence
- Challenge breathalyzer/blood test results
- Negotiate plea bargains
- Discuss diversion program eligibility
Plea Bargain or Trial
Most DUI cases (over 90%) resolve through plea bargaining, not trial.
Plea Bargain Benefits
- • Reduced charges
- • Lighter sentence
- • Certainty of outcome
- • Lower costs
Trial Risks
- • Maximum sentence if convicted
- • Higher legal fees
- • Uncertainty
- • Time consuming
Sentencing
Judge determines penalties based on the plea agreement or trial verdict. Sentences may include fines, probation, jail time, license suspension, IID, SCRAM monitoring, and/or DUI classes.
Don't Face This Alone
A DUI attorney can make the difference between a conviction and a dismissal, between jail time and probation. They know local judges, prosecutors, and can challenge evidence that you might not even know is challengeable.
Find Custer County DUI AttorneysThe Custer Combined Court is closed on Wednesdays and Fridays, a schedule change that took effect September 3, 2024. That leaves three working days a week — Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, 8 AM to 5 PM with a lunch closure from noon to 12:30 — for anyone trying to file a motion, pay court costs, or make a clerk's appointment in person. Show up on a Wednesday and the building is simply locked.
Misdemeanor DUI cases stay in County Court; felony DUI, meaning a fourth offense or a case involving injury, moves to District Court. The county court judge is Hon. Michael Halpin, appointed in late 2022. He's a former Custer County Sheriff's deputy and Colorado State Trooper, which matters in practice: he knows roadside procedure and field sobriety testing from the inside, and defense arguments built around technical confusion over those tests tend to face a skeptical audience. District Court felony matters go before Hon. Lauren Swan and Chief Judge Amanda Hunter.
The court's address is 205 S. 6th St., Westcliffe, CO 81252, phone 719-783-2274. On the two closed days, filings can still go in by fax to 719-735-1706, but the clerk requires a callback phone number included with the fax for handling any payment arrangements.
Judge Halpin's courtroom runs on Webex, though appearing remotely isn't automatic. A party needs prior judicial approval before using the direct Webex link; anyone who hasn't gotten that approval, including the general public wanting to watch, has to use the separate public livestream instead. Recording either feed, audio or video, is grounds for immediate expulsion and a contempt charge.
Courthouse security follows standard state rules: phones must stay silenced inside the courtroom, no photography or video anywhere in the building without a specific media order, and weapons are never permitted.
Indigent defendants get representation through the Office of the State Public Defender's Salida Regional Office, which covers Custer County. Defendants who can afford private counsel typically hire from the regional pool of attorneys who handle 11th Judicial District cases, since there's little in the way of a dedicated local defense bar based in Westcliffe itself.