Assault Defense in Colorado

Right Law Group's guide explains: "It is not unusual for people to get into fights at some point in their lives. Those fights may occur as children on a playground, and the repercussions may be little more than a time-out or grounding."

Being a felon carries consequences well beyond the sentence itself, reaching into many parts of daily life. Alexis explains: "So, collateral consequences when it comes to felonies can be wide ranging. Can be impact on employment, getting jobs, getting certifications from the government. If you possess a professional license, it could prevent you from keeping that license and being able to work in a field of your choice. It can have an impact on trying to secure housing. And then also in the community, being a felon can have a stigma with family, friends, and the community that can have an impact on your life in addition to those that could be housing or employment. Travel to foreign countries can be impacted by a felony conviction." She calls these collateral consequences and describes them as wide ranging. They include employment, government certifications, professional licenses, securing housing, and even travel to foreign countries. She also notes a felony can carry a stigma with family, friends, and the community that affects your life on top of the housing and employment effects.

No. First-degree assault under C.R.S. 18-3-202 is a class 3 felony, or a class 5 felony if committed in a sudden heat of passion. The statute contains no class 2 tier that turns on how serious the injury was. Some older summaries described a class 2 or class 3 first-degree assault depending on injury severity; that is not how the statute reads. Class 2 felony exposure for this kind of conduct comes only from a different law, the crimes-against-at-risk-persons statute (C.R.S. 18-6.5-103), when the victim is an at-risk adult or juvenile. On the base assault statute, the ceiling is a class 3 felony sentenced as a crime of violence.

Yes, in specific circumstances. Second-degree assault under C.R.S. 18-3-203 is usually a class 4 felony, but the statute elevates certain conduct to a class 3 felony, such as causing serious bodily injury during the commission of another qualifying offense. In the heat-of-passion form it drops instead to a class 6 felony. A class 3 second-degree assault is sentenced far more heavily than the class 4 default, and where a deadly weapon or serious bodily injury is involved it also carries crime-of-violence treatment under C.R.S. 18-1.3-406. The specific subsection charged controls which range applies.

Alexis explains: "Another example of seconddegree assault would be using a deadly weapon and causing bodily injury to somebody. So if you and Colorado allows for quite a wide range of things to be considered deadly weapons. For instance, a pipe, something that we wouldn't necessarily think as a deadly weapon could be a deadly weapon. Obviously, there's knives, pistols, things along those lines. So if it's using a deadly weapon to in a resulting in a bodily injury, then you you are potentially going to be facing a crime of seconddegree assault."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "In addition to fines and jail time, being convicted of a felony can have severe lifelong consequences. Felons can't buy or carry guns and are usually restricted from holding specific jobs, like teaching or working as an attorney or police officer."

It can. C.R.S. 18-3-202(2) provides that if a first-degree assault is committed upon a sudden heat of passion, caused by a serious and highly provoking act of the intended victim, with no cooling-off interval, the offense is a class 5 felony rather than a class 3 felony. That is a large difference: a class 5 felony carries a presumptive one to three years, while the class 3 version is sentenced as a crime of violence with mandatory prison. Heat of passion is a contested factual issue. It turns on the provocation, the absence of time to cool off, and how a reasonable person would have reacted.

Menacing does not turn on whether you physically handled the weapon, because the firm explains the test is the fear your conduct created. The firm's Castle Rock menacing guide puts it plainly: "Even if you never intended to cause harm, aggressively displaying a deadly weapon can still lead to felony menacing charges. The key is whether the alleged victim genuinely feared imminent serious injury based on your actions." The guide says that even without an intent to cause harm, aggressively displaying a deadly weapon can still lead to felony menacing charges. The key it identifies is whether the alleged victim genuinely feared imminent serious injury based on your actions, not whether you reached for or pointed the weapon. The full explanation is on our blog.

First Degree Assault cases in Englewood are handled by the Arapahoe County Combined Court, which sits in the 18th Judicial District. As a combined court, it hears both county-court and district-court matters.

Menacing cases in Littleton are handled by the Arapahoe County Combined Court, which sits in the 18th Judicial District. As a combined court, it hears both county-court and district-court matters.

Second Degree Assault cases in Arapahoe County are handled by the Arapahoe County Combined Court, which sits in the 18th Judicial District. As a combined court, it hears both county-court and district-court matters.

Third Degree Assault cases in Aurora are handled by the Arapahoe County Combined Court, which sits in the 18th Judicial District. As a combined court, it hears both county-court and district-court matters.

Vehicular Assault cases in Littleton are handled by the Arapahoe County Combined Court, which sits in the 18th Judicial District. As a combined court, it hears both county-court and district-court matters.

Colorado moved to a two-class misdemeanor system for offenses committed on or after March 1, 2022, under C.R.S. 18-1.3-501. A class 1 misdemeanor carries up to 364 days in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000. A class 2 misdemeanor carries up to 120 days and a fine of up to $750. The former three-class scheme, including class 3 misdemeanors, no longer applies to current offenses. Some offenses are also designated extraordinary-risk misdemeanors, which can raise the top of the range. The change reclassified many offenses, so a penalty listed under the old scheme may no longer be correct.

Under C.R.S. 18-3-203(2), a second-degree assault committed upon a sudden heat of passion is a class 6 felony instead of the usual class 4 felony. The mitigator requires a serious and highly provoking act by the intended victim, an irresistible passion in a reasonable person, and no interval long enough for reason to return. The practical effect is large: a class 6 felony carries a presumptive one year to eighteen months, while a class 4 felony carries two to six years and, with a deadly weapon or serious bodily injury, crime-of-violence sentencing. Whether the provocation and timing support the mitigator is decided on the facts.

Alexis explains: "That escalates from a class one misdemeanor to a class 4 felony. And uh potential DOC sentence on that is going to be the the max level uh penalty."

Recovered video can matter, because video is among the kinds of evidence the firm identifies as useful for disproving an allegation. The firm's guide lists "Evidence that may help to disprove an allegeation of domestic violence includes:" and names "Surveillance video ... Medical records ... Eyewitness testimony." Video footage sits at the top of that list of evidence that can help disprove the allegation. The guide groups it alongside medical records and eyewitness testimony as material that supports a defense. The full breakdown is on our blog.

Avoiding court for years works against you, and the firm treats missing a court date as one of the most serious mistakes a defendant can make. Alexis is direct: "FTA will usually lead to the judge issuing a warrant for your arrest. FTA could also lead to issues with your bond and simply the destruction of your credibility with the prosecutor and the judge." She explains that a failure to appear, what she calls FTA, is a critical error because your summons has a court date on it and missing it becomes a whole new issue to deal with. Beyond the warrant itself, Alexis points to the damage to your credibility with the prosecutor and the judge, which is exactly what years of avoiding court can create. In her words, missing court should never be an option.

Even if you expect the charges under your name to be dismissed at the next date, you still need to keep connecting until that actually happens. Alexis explains: "if you have a court date and don't show up a warrant will enter for your arrest saying hey this person we call it a failed to appear". She says the only way you do not have to appear is if you have an attorney going for you who has already cleared it, or if the appropriate motions are filed. Until the case is actually resolved, missing a scheduled appearance is treated as a failure to appear, so continuing to connect is what keeps a warrant from entering.

Dismissal is genuinely possible, even in cases that do not look promising at first, but it follows from investigating the case rather than assuming the outcome. Alexis is direct: "Every case deserves a thorough investigation before you consider any plea agreement. I've seen charges reduced or even dismissed in cases that initially looked hopeless." Her point is that every case deserves a thorough investigation before you consider any plea agreement. She says she has seen charges reduced or even dismissed in cases that initially looked hopeless. That is the basis for not treating dismissal as off the table.

Your first court date is an early procedural step, and knowing what it is for takes a lot of the pressure off deciding what to say. Jimmy explains: "Your first court appearance is usually an advisement hearing, and this is where charges are read and the court advises you about potential penalties. Your attorney can appear with you, handle communication, and start pushing the case in the right direction immediately." He frames the advisement as the point where the charges are read to you and the court advises you of the potential penalties, not a moment where you are expected to argue your case. Jimmy notes your attorney can appear with you and handle the communication, so you are not left to speak for yourself. He describes that as how the case starts getting pushed in the right direction from the very first appearance.

A plea deal is one of two paths your case can take, and understanding that choice is the first step in deciding what to do. Alexis explains that "a decision time will come when you'll have to decide whether you're gonna take this to trial, or whether you're gonna take a plea agreement". She describes that once your attorney has talked with the district attorney, you decide which route to take, and if you go the plea route your attorney sets a plea and sentencing date where you come before the judge to enter your plea. As she puts it, "at the plea and sentencing, you and your attorney have worked out a deal with the district attorney", which is why having an attorney work that out with the DA is central to the decision.

Not knowing what to expect is normal, and the ordinary path through court is more predictable than it feels. Alexis explains: "So, if you hire an attorney, what we do is we go in we file our entry of appearance letting the court know we're representing you on this matter ... What normally happens is you have a couple of what are called pre-trial conferences. So at a pre-trial conference, that's an opportunity for your attorney to sit and talk with the district attorney about the facts of the case, the mitigation that they see, what an appropriate plea bargain might be, or if we wanna take this case to trial, what the issues in the case are." She notes that at the first appearance center there are no judges, so when your attorney enters on the case it moves the process along a little faster instead of leaving you waiting around. From there the case ordinarily runs through those pre-trial conferences where your attorney and the district attorney work through the facts and mitigation. That is also where the path forward, whether a plea bargain or trial, gets shaped.

If you are looking at a court date labeled arraignment, that term does not always mean what people assume it means. Alexis explains: "some courts use an arraignment just as a general term for a court date, they're not requiring you to set a not guilty plea. They're just saying we're setting for arraignment because they want some kind of decision." She notes that sometimes the decision the court is looking for is simply that another court date needs to be set. In her words, "So arraignment can be used a lot of different ways." That is why the same label can mean different things from one courtroom to the next.