Denver Traffic Ticket Lawyer: Denver County Court Defense

If you got a traffic ticket in Denver, your case is in Denver County Court, and Denver handles traffic cases its own way. Before anything else, two questions decide how your case will go: is your charge a traffic infraction or a criminal traffic offense, and is your case at the City and County Building on Bannock Street or at the Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse on Colfax?

I’m Monte Robbins. I have defended drivers in Denver County Court for more than 20 years, and I personally handle every case. In many Denver traffic cases, I can appear in court for you, so you don’t have to take time off work or fly back to Colorado. This page explains how Denver traffic court really works, from the plea offer on your ticket to a Final Hearing or trial.

Infraction or Offense? Start Here

• Traffic infractions are the less serious tickets and carry no jail. Speeding 10 mph over the limit is a typical example.
• Traffic offenses are criminal traffic charges and carry the possibility of jail. Driving without proof of insurance, careless driving, reckless driving, speeding 25 mph or more over, and driving under restraint are common examples.

If you were charged with both from the same stop, the whole case is handled as an offense case. If the offense is dismissed and only infractions remain, the infraction rules apply.

How Denver Handles Infractions: The Offer on Your Ticket

A few years ago, Denver changed its traffic plea policy. On a traffic infraction, you can no longer meet with a prosecutor to negotiate. Instead, the plea offer is printed on your ticket. That offer may reduce the points by substituting a different charge, sometimes one that has little to do with what happened. Denver’s own example: a 4-point speeding ticket offered as a 2-point defective vehicle charge, because there is no 2-point speeding charge to plead to.

So your real choice on an infraction is:

1. Accept the printed offer, or
2. Plead not guilty and contest the ticket at a Final Hearing.

That choice matters, because once you elect a Final Hearing, the plea offer is generally withdrawn. If you lose, the judgment enters on the original charge with its full points. You can’t go back and ask for the offer you turned down.

What Happens at a Denver Traffic Final Hearing

A Final Hearing is a short trial before a judge or magistrate, set within 91 days of your not-guilty plea. A few things surprise most people:

• There is usually no prosecutor. The officer who wrote the ticket appears as the City’s witness and testifies.
• There is generally no discovery before the hearing. Under Denver County Court’s local rules, the City’s file, including the officer’s notes, is generally made available for inspection on the day of the hearing, not before.
• The officer goes first. Then you (or your lawyer) cross-examine, present your own evidence and witnesses, and argue. Subpoenas for witnesses are free, but you have to serve them.
• You don’t have to testify, and sometimes you shouldn’t. The City has to prove the charge, and testifying can fill gaps in its case.
• An officer who doesn’t show up doesn’t guarantee a dismissal. The court may dismiss, but it may also continue the hearing.
• A mechanic’s estimate saying your speedometer was broken won’t automatically win the case. The court looks at when the car was checked, what was found, and whether the problem existed at the time of the stop.

If the court finds the charge proven, it enters judgment on whatever it finds, for example speeding 20 to 24 mph over (6 points), along with the fine and costs.

Criminal Traffic Offenses: Arraignment, Rights, and Penalties

In practice, if you are set for an arraignment in Denver traffic court, at least one of your charges is a criminal traffic offense. At the arraignment, the court goes over the advisement of rights, and you can meet with the prosecutor and/or set the case for trial.

Your Rights on a Denver Traffic Offense

From Denver’s current advisement of rights:

• A trial to the court or a jury within 91 days of a not-guilty plea, or within 180 days for some charges
• For a jury trial, a written jury demand, and on a municipal traffic offense, a $25 fee paid within 21 days of your not-guilty plea
• The right to have a judge, rather than a magistrate, hear your case. If you agree to a magistrate, you can’t change your mind later
• A public defender, if jail is possible and you meet the income guidelines
• If you are a veteran or serving in the armed forces, the right to be advised about available services
• The right to remain silent, to make the prosecution prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt, to cross-examine witnesses, subpoena witnesses, and present evidence, and to testify or not
• Appeal to Denver District Court after a conviction

The jury demand and fee deadline is easy to miss on your own. It is one of the first things I watch for in an offense case.

Possible Penalties

Denver Municipal Code charges at 1437 Bannock Street, from the City’s advisement form:

Colorado state traffic charges at 520 W. Colfax:

• Class 1 misdemeanor traffic offense: 10 days to 1 year in jail and a $300 to $1,000 fine
• Class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense: 10 to 90 days in jail and a $150 to $300 fine
• DUI, DWAI, DUR, DUR-alcohol, and HTO have their own penalty schemes, some with mandatory jail

In any case involving property damage or injury, the court can also order restitution to the other driver for medical bills, lost wages, repairs, and deductibles.

These are maximums, not the expected outcome. For many drivers, the points matter more than the fine, because they can lead to a suspension, higher insurance, and trouble for commercial drivers.

Bannock Street or Colfax? Which Courthouse Is My Case In?

Denver traffic cases are heard in two buildings, and your summons says which. Going to the wrong one can cost you your court date.

Denver City and County Building, 1437 Bannock Street

Most tickets written under the Denver Municipal Code: routine infractions, Final Hearings, and municipal traffic offenses. In many Bannock Street cases, I can appear for you.

Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse, 520 W. Colfax Avenue

The bigger cases, charged under Colorado state law and prosecuted by the Denver District Attorney’s Office:

• Careless driving causing bodily injury or serious bodily injury, and careless driving involving a vulnerable road user
• Hit and run
• Reckless driving
• Driving under restraint, including DUR-alcohol
• Driving after revocation (DARP) and habitual traffic offender cases
• Eluding
• DUI and DWAI
• Evading an ignition interlock

Any infractions filed with those charges are heard there too. At Colfax, the court generally expects you to appear in person. In some cases I can ask for permission to appear virtually or appear for you at certain hearings, but you shouldn’t assume your appearance will be waived.

Criminal Traffic Charges I Defend in Denver

• Careless driving, from minor fender benders to injury cases. A collision alone does not prove careless driving, and an injury charge doesn’t mean injury can be proven. See Colorado Careless Driving.
• Reckless driving, often charged together with extreme speed. See Reckless Driving in Colorado.
• Hit and run and failure to report an accident. See Denver Hit-and-Run Defense.
• Driving under restraint, DARP, and HTO. See Driving Under Restraint.
• Eluding. See Denver Eluding the Police.
• DUI and DWAI. See Denver DUI Lawyer.

Got a Letter From Denver’s Traffic Investigations Unit?

If a detective from the Denver Police Department’s Traffic Investigations Unit sends you a letter asking you to call, give a statement, or bring your car in for inspection, they’re not inviting you over for coffee. You are the subject of a criminal investigation, usually a hit and run. Talk to a lawyer before you talk to the detective or agree to an inspection.

Denver Speeding Tickets

Colorado assigns points by how far over the limit you were:

At 25 mph or more over, speeding becomes a criminal traffic offense. School zone and construction zone tickets carry enhanced penalties.

New Point Penalties as of August 12, 2026

For speeding 20 mph or more over the limit, or over Colorado’s 75 mph maximum, the DMV now adds points for repeat violations:

Driving 100 mph or more adds another 4 points. That means the points printed on the ticket may not be your real exposure, so your prior record has to be part of any decision about an offer.

How Speeding Cases Are Fought

Officers measure speed by radar, lidar, pacing, or visual estimate, and each raises different questions. When the case is a criminal offense with discovery, I review:

• The officer’s body-worn camera video, compared against the written Traffic Ticket Report
• Radar or lidar operator certifications and recertifications
• Calibration certificates from the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Metrology Laboratory
• The officer’s recorded audio notes, when available
• Readings, photos, and diagrams

Small inconsistencies between the video, the report, and the notes can matter in negotiations or at trial. Missing body-worn camera footage can be an issue in itself. See Colorado Body-Worn Camera Evidence, Radar and the Walker Case, and my Colorado Speeding Ticket Lawyer guide. Ticketed for crossing the painted gore area? See Denver Gore Violation Ticket.

Can You Go to Court for Me?

On many Bannock Street cases, yes, including many municipal criminal traffic cases. That helps busy professionals, commercial drivers, and anyone who lives outside Denver or outside Colorado. Colfax cases generally require you to be there, though a virtual appearance is sometimes possible. Either way, I’ll tell you well in advance when you need to appear.

Much of the work can be handled by phone, email, and electronic signatures, and I offer flat fees in many Denver traffic cases.

Commercial Drivers

For a CDL holder, the right strategy often differs from a regular driver’s. A conviction can affect your commercial driving privileges and your job, even for a ticket in your personal vehicle. See my Colorado CDL Traffic Lawyer page.

Frequently Asked Questions About Denver Traffic Tickets

Talk to a Denver Traffic Ticket Lawyer

The best time to call is before you accept the offer or request a Final Hearing, because that decision is hard to undo. Call me at 303-355-5148 or contact my office for a free consultation. You’ll speak with me, not an intake team.