"I think the concept of punishment is supposed to be finite," says one Colorado legislator.
That lawmaker is Rep. Mike Weissman (D-Aurora), who strongly supports one criminal law reform measure that is of deep concern to its targeted audience.
These crime-related numbers simply have to go down
We note on our website at the established Denver criminal defense firm of Shazam Kianpour & Associates a bedrock legal canon of American law. It addresses the prosecutorial role, and is both direct and simple. We duly stress that the government must prove an alleged criminal offender's guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt."
We couple that elemental point with a necessary addition that comes from our perspective as proven defense attorneys. We underscore the maximum efforts we make in every case to render that reasonable-doubt threshold "very difficult" for prosecutors to meet.
Holiday revelry, and a segue to Colorado’s exacting DUI laws
Are you a fan of St. Patrick’s Day?
Legions of people are. That quasi-holiday easily qualifies as an annual chance-to-party gala in cities and states across the country. Parades and green beer tend to promote a festive spirit.
What does hard empirical data suggest concerning expungement?
A recent article terms it a "groundbreaking" study focused on an important criminal law topic. It has also been called "remarkable."
With accolades like that, it would seem almost remiss for Shazam Kianpour & Associates to not address the recent findings from a major research effort spotlighting criminal records expungement. Its data is principally relevant to another state, but easily commands broad-based significance across the country, including in Colorado.
“Flipping the bird” case goes against officer on multiple grounds
It was just a finger.
But it was the wrong finger.
Colorado legislature may expand cell phone ban
State legislators are considering an expansion to the current cell phone laws for Colorado motorists. Current law prohibits cell phone use for drivers under 18 years old and texting while driving for everyone.
Colorado lawmakers want to extend that law to ban all cell phone use for drivers regardless of age. The new bill, Senate Bill 19-012, would also prohibit the use of all mobile electronic devices, not just cell phones.
What is Colorado's legal take on money bail?
Money bail has long been a constant in the criminal law realm, with defendants paying bail to a court to remain free while their cases are pending or proceeding to a hearing. The practice has been an enduring mainstay nationally, including in Colorado.
A recent Denver Post article notes, though, that "the cash bail system has been under constant scrutiny across the country in recent years." A diverse and ever-growing number of money bail critics strongly demand an end to the practice, charging that it poses an unfair and sometimes overwhelming challenge for cash-strapped individuals and families. Whereas one given defendant might have no problem making bail and being released from jail, another individual facing the same criminal charge might be flatly unable to do so.
Expungement program reportedly needs a bit more exposure
The wording of Turn Over a New Leaf is certainly clever. The accompanying details concerning its particulars don't seem to have been too well-considered, though.
New Leaf is a Denver initiative that took legal effect early this year. A recent media story notes its targeted audience of "thousands of people with past low-level marijuana convictions." Many of those individuals might now be eligible to apply for expungement.
Colorado’s LEAD program espouses a new offender strategy
We referenced a confirmed criminal sentencing failure in a recent blog post, noting in our February 25 entry “a knee-jerk policy that fails far more often than it succeeds.”
That is the decades-old War on Crime strategy espousing a default lock-them-up outcome for criminal offenders. That practice has stuffed jails and prisons to a busting point in Colorado and nationally. It has also resulted in behind-bars treatment for legions of first-time and nonviolent offenders.
CO program aims to materially curb offender recidivism rates
Colorado criminal law analysts and commentators know just as well as their peers across the country what approaches work and what strategies are failing in the justice system.
And they keep shining the spotlight on a particular sentencing outcome that has come in for progressively blistering criticism in recent years. What disturbs then deeply is a default lock-up response that has been prevalent in the United States for decades pursuant to stated War on Crime rationales.
