The last blog post referenced a survey that produced a surprising statistic about impaired driving in Colorado: Most of those arrested for this offense are men. However, there was another surprising statistic in addition to this one: Approximately 27,000 people were arrested for impaired driving offenses in Colorado in the 2016 calendar year.

This means that 27,000 drivers -- many of whom were no-doubt innocent -- were put the arrest process, booked in jail or at the local police station and forced to undergo invasive testing. Then, they were put through the Colorado criminal process for intoxicated driving defendants. If you're currently facing OWI charges and preparing for your court proceedings, you probably have a lot of worries and questions. You could be facing the possibility of professional employment consequences, damage to your public reputation and damage to your existing relationships -- in addition to the potential for stiff fines, the loss of driving privileges, the threat of jail time, insurance rate hikes and more.

The consequences of a potential OWI conviction are enough to make anyone worry; however, your OWI charges will not be the end of the world no matter what the result of your trial proceedings. In the meantime, what you need to do is get focused, get serious and get practical about bringing the best criminal defense forward possible. Know that -- with 27,000 people arrested and accused of the common legal violation -- you are not alone in this process. Others have been tried for. But most importantly, you will remain innocent of your charges until -- and only if -- the prosecution succeeds in proving that you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

If you've been charged with this crime, you have the legal right to defend yourself in court. Make sure you learn as much about your case scenario and the laws that apply to your situation, then take action to defend yourself in the most appropriate way possible.