Christopher H. Cessna
Why I Seek Out Justice for My Clients
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In 1985, I joined the U.S. Air Force Reserves to help pay my way through college. After graduating from basic training as an Honor Graduate and military police tech school, I was doing DUI patrols at various Air Force Bases around the country. Later, after graduating from Colorado State University, I was hired full time as a rookie cop in North Carolina. After only six months out of the police academy, I found myself assigned “around the clock” police protection for my home after I testified against another officer from a different agency, who (in my opinion) had intentionally framed and arrested an innocent woman for DUI. I couldn’t help but wonder if I had ruined my career before it really got started.
It all unfolded when I was asked by a North Carolina state police officer to back her up on a DUI stop. I watched from my role as the cover officer, as the female officer investigated this young lady for a DUI. It quickly became apparent to me that the two females were beginning to agitate each other. But it was also apparent to me that the driver seemed to be passing the field sobriety tests just fine. So when the female officer told the driver she was under arrest for DUI, I was stunned, but I didn’t feel it was my place to second guess the officer since I couldn’t see everything as clearly from my vantage point.
After a few weeks passed, an attorney for the driver contacted me and asked my opinion about his client’s sobriety. I gave him my honest opinion from what I observed, knowing it would open a can of worms. And did it ever! I subsequently heard that the female officer was facing disciplinary action from her department as this had not been the first such incident. I then received very credible death threats from the officer’s husband or boyfriend. These threats led to my supervisors requesting that a third agency post police officers around my residence for days on end. I subsequently heard second hand that the female officer had ultimately been terminated for a history of poor and dishonest performance.
I would spend the next ten years doing DUI enforcement at the state and federal level, and being trained and certified as a DUI officer on numerous models of the CMI intoxilyzer breath test machine and the new and evolving NHTSA field sobriety test procedures. I would subsequently lead my agency in DUI and BUI related arrests and prosecutions.
After ten years as a DUI officer, I decided to go big, and accept the challenge of law school. After graduating from law school, I would serve three years as a deputy district attorney prosecuting almost nothing but DUI and domestic violence cases in both Jefferson and Larimer Counties. As a deputy DA, I was honored to be asked by my supervisors to research and write an appellate brief for the Colorado State Supreme Court on the admissibility of DUI field sobriety tests. I was also asked to write the appellate brief to affirm the trial conviction of one of the few people charged as an accessory after the fact to the Columbine Shootings in Jefferson County, Colorado.
After three years as a deputy district attorney, I knew I had to leave the dizzying and political pace of a deputy DA, and open my own practice (I had some selfish reasons of course. If you ask, I’ll share my story). So over 17 years ago I opened my own DUI Defense practice, and I have never looked back. I love helping others and fighting their cases. I have won DUI trials that many thought impossible to win. And I have won even more cases prior to trial, such as at both the motions hearing and the early negotiations phases.
So for over 25 years later, just like I did even as a rookie cop - if I see an injustice in a DUI investigation or any criminal case, I will fight for you, and we will do everything we can to “right that wrong.” Call me and lets discuss your case!
Education & Early Legal Career
Attorney Chris Cessna decided to attend the University of Denver, College of Law, in 1996 in which he served as a law clerk for the Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation. However, in his sophomore year of law school Attorney Chris Cessna went onto inter with the Deputy District Attorney, where he prosecuted traffic cases. Due to this experience, he was chosen to compose an appellate brief that was turned into the Colorado Supreme Court, the appellate was reviewed and considered on the admissibility of “Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus evidence in DUI cases”.
Upon graduating in 1999, Attorney Chris Cessna became a full-time Deputy District Attorney. He was able to prosecute criminal cases and take a number of complex cases to trial where he used scientific evidence, that included: breath, blood, and other chemical tests.
A Dedicated Focus on DUI & Criminal Defense
Want to learn more about Attorney Chris Cessna? Click the links below to view his credentials, awards, and the reasons why you should hire his office to defend your case:
- Why should you hire attorney Chris Cessna? Click here to learn more.
- DUI Education Training and Certifications
- Presentations and Publications
- Awards and Honors
View more testimonials here.
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