Blog

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...

The Colorado Supreme Court recently made a significant change to rules regarding how confessions are treated in criminal proceedings. Prosecutors once needed to provide proof that a crime had occurred in addition to the confession. However, now that will not be necessary if the court finds the confession to be trustworthy.In future criminal cases,...

In November Colorado voters approved Amendment 64, which made it legal for adults over 21 to possess and use small quantities of marijuana for recreational use. In response to the new law, Colorado is considering new DUI standards for THC and prosecutors are dropping many drug offense charges. However, Colorado is not the only state affected...

A Colorado soldier has been arrested in Alabama for allegedly sexually assaulting a girl. According to police, he coaxed her into his vehicle after she got off the school bus, assaulted and then abandoned. Now he faces charges outside of his home state.This case illustrates how national sex offender registries and DNA databases are...

From heavy fines to license revocation to an extended stay behind bars, the possible punishments that follow a conviction on drunk driving charges are serious and can potentially follow a person for the rest of their life. Specifically in Colorado, even a first-time offense can warrant a mandatory ignition interlock device being installed in...

Coloradoans passed Amendment 64 during the November election to legalize possession and use of small amounts of marijuana by people 21 and older. It also provides for the licensing of cultivation and testing facilities. The Amendment made Colorado one of the most lenient states for marijuana use in the country.However, unlike the marijuana amendment passed...

A pair of University of Colorado students are facing charges after a prank backfired, causing several people to become ill. When invited to bring food in to class, the two responded by bringing brownies – but they didn’t tell their professor or classmates that they contained marijuana. After eating them, a professor and two...

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...

Colorado law enforcement agencies are currently conducting a sex offender sweep to attempt to locate some of the state’s “missing” offenders. The sweep is meant to enforce state registry laws and keep an up-to-date tab on those convicted of related offenses in the state.Most people who have been convicted of a sex offense in...