Alleged online criminal behavior. Targeted computer-based offenses. Cyber crime. Are those … what? The same? Somehow different? Many Colorado residents who follow criminal law stories and legal updates might find those posed questions to be linked with an obvious...
Retailer momentum: a move to ratchet up shoplifting penalties
Six months in prison for a homeless man pilfering socks from a department store? A 10-month term behind bars for a woman with cancer who stole $100 worth of food from a grocery outlet? A felony conviction for a defendant who was arrested after shoplifting items valued...
White collar crime: aggressively probed and prosecuted
Many readers of this forum’s criminal law blog posts have likely heard the lament that persons convicted of so-called “white collar” criminal offenses in Colorado and nationally secure comparatively lenient sentencing outcomes. That is, it often seems the case that an...
The fundamentals of a Colorado criminal mischief charge
Smashing a car window out of anger. Defacing a business by spraying graffiti across its entrance. Starting a fire that destroys a homeowner’s property. Slashing the tires of a municipal or school bus.As varied as all those acts are, isn’t there something fundamentally...
Burglary: an often misunderstood criminal charge
Even many law school students fail when it comes to properly assessing whether a criminal charge of burglary makes sense in a given case.Indeed, what is burglary?Here’s a common perception as to what burglary entails: You stole something, so the burglary charge...
Theft by receiving: Do you have to do the taking to be charged?
Colorado readers of our blogs at the established Denver criminal defense firm of Shazam Kianpour & Associates likely see the following types of scenarios routinely play out on television crime dramas. The guy with a suitcase full of Rolex watches, for example, who...
Colorado corrections leaders rethink the release system for inmates
After nearly a year in his position as the Colorado Department of Corrections Director, Dean Williams is already looking to make a difference in the prison system. There is a concern for how well inmates adjust to life on the outside once released, especially in the...
