Felony 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."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "Right Law Group helps Veterans and Military members fight and defend against criminal charges . If you are looking for a VA lawyer to discuss your benefits, please visit Vetus Legal LLC ."

A dismissal is one of the outcomes that experienced representation can put on the table, though it is not the only one. The firm's felony defense guide puts it plainly: "hiring an experienced felony attorney as soon as possible can be the difference between a conviction and a reduction or dismissal of charges." The guide frames getting an experienced attorney involved early as what can move a case toward a reduction or dismissal rather than a conviction. The full overview is on our blog.

Right Law Group's guide explains: "If you take someone’s property without their permission, you’re subject to criminal prosecution . When assessing the differences between burglary vs theft, you’ll see that Colorado’s statutes consider intent and execution."

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.

Right Law Group's guide explains: "Criminal procedure in Colorado can be complicated and incredibly difficult to manage on your own. People will say that it is our actions that define us, but the fact of the matter is, that’s only partially true."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "Challenging the Evidence Against You Before Trial / Surviving Arrest In CO Challenging the Evidence Against You Before Trial One of the many services your criminal defense attorney can provide for you is to challenge the evidence that prosecutors have against you."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "If you are at the center of a criminal investigation, then prosecutors are likely taking multiple avenues to gather evidence as part of your case."

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.

In limited situations, yes. C.R.S. 18-12-108(3)(b) lets a person whose disqualifier was a juvenile adjudication petition the court for an order finding that the previous-offender bar does not apply, if the court finds good cause by a preponderance of the evidence. A separate provision, 18-12-108(3.5), allows a petition ten years after the final disposition or the end of supervision for a first-degree motor vehicle theft disqualifier. These petitions are narrow and fact-specific. They do not erase the underlying conviction; they address only whether the possession bar continues to apply to that person.

Right Law Group's guide explains: "In the US, the police can only search your property if there is reasonable cause for suspicion. The police cannot search your person, your car, your home, or other property without a warrant or reasonable suspicion."

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: "Navigating the complexities of criminal law and civil rights can be challenging, especially for individuals with felony convictions."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "We serve clients across Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, El Paso, Fremont, Jefferson, Teller, and Pueblo Counties. Whether you or a loved one have been arrested for DUI or have been charged with a felony or misdemeanor, there is still hope."

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.

No. The felony class for possession of a weapon by a previous offender does not change based on the type of prior conviction. Under C.R.S. 18-12-108(2), the offense is a class 5 felony whether the disqualifying prior was a violent felony, a drug felony, or another qualifying felony, and whether the person has one prior or many. What can change is the sentence within the class: if the weapon was used or threatened in another crime, the person becomes ineligible for probation and must go to the Department of Corrections. Older summaries describing a class 6, class 4, or class 3 POWPO tier reflect a repealed version of the statute.

Drug Distribution / Sales 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.

Drug distribution under C.R.S. 18-18-405 is a drug felony whose level depends mainly on the type and amount of the controlled substance. The four drug-felony levels in C.R.S. 18-1.3-401.5 carry very different ranges: a level 1 drug felony is eight to thirty-two years with a fine up to $1,000,000; level 2 is four to eight years; level 3 is two to four years; and level 4 is six months to one year. Only a level 1 drug felony reaches the million-dollar fine ceiling. Describing distribution as carrying up to a million-dollar fine across the board overstates the exposure for the lower levels.

Felony Theft 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.

First 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.

Robbery 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.

Second 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 Homicide 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.

Weapons Charges (POWPO) 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.