Criminal Defense

Yesterday Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed a package of gun control bills, inspired in part by several tragic mass shootings in 2012. The state has now put several new restrictions on gun purchase and ownership in the state. Under the new laws, the state will now require background checks for all gun sales, including...

Last week we discussed a proposed bill in Colorado that would greatly expand the scope of DNA collection in the state. Currently, DNA is only collected from those convicted or arrested on felony charges and it goes into the state’s DNA database. But under a new proposed law, people convicted of misdemeanors would also...

Being convicted of a misdemeanor crime in Colorado can carry some stiff penalties, depending on the crime. Now, the consequences of being convicted of a misdemeanor may soon become harsher. A proposed bill in Colorado wants to allow the state to collect DNA samples from those convicted of misdemeanor crimes. This means that people...

2012 was a year of gun violence in the national media and particularly in Colorado. In response, Colorado lawmakers have been working on a package of gun control bills to try and prevent future gun violence in the state. They will have to balance two interests: the safety of Coloradoans and the right to...

Authorities have recently taken notice of an unusual “crime spree” taking place in Colorado. Apparently millions of dollars worth of Tide laundry detergent are being stolen from stores and sold on the black market. One man allegedly took $8,000 worth of the detergent in Colorado and police are still looking for him. Much of...

Colorado’s lawmakers are considering legislation that would make it illegal to kill or injure a woman’s unborn child. Such an offense would probably often be connected to charges of violence against the child’s mother, whose injury or death may lead to the child’s. House Democrats support the idea of such legislation but killed a...

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution gives all Americans protections against unwarranted search and seizure of their person and their property. At the core of this Amendment is the belief that innocent people should not have to fear for their privacy in personal spaces like their homes. However, sometimes law enforcement officials...

Two high-profile cases of severe misconduct at state crime labs made headlines during 2012, raising concerns about a sector of the criminal justice system that is often ignored despite being frighteningly underregulated. One technician failed to identify and test significant DNA evidence in rape kits, leading to a review of over 800 cases in...

Last week we discussed the struggle that courts across the country are facing as they try to determine what, if any, privacy protections apply to data stored on cell phones. Different courts seem unable to agree on how cell phone evidence should be treated in criminal cases and to whom that information belongs. A...

Many people carry their entire lives around in their phone. A cell phone can hold a person’s appointments, photos, location and communications with everyone they know.The Constitution grants all Americans certain fundamental rights, including protections against unreasonable or warrantless search and seizure in the Fourth Amendment. But is a person’s cell phone protected as...