How Plea Bargaining Works in Denver Criminal Court Cases
July 29, 2026
Earlier this year, a 40-year-old man’s overdose in Fort Collins drew state authority attention to a Colorado drug trafficking ring. The overdose became a catalyst in authorities from the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force embarking on an investigation – Operation Malverde.
After eight months of hard work, the team’s efforts paid off. In recent news, authorities dismantled the drug trafficking organization, issuing eight search and arrest warrants.
Raids at eight separate locations (Arvada, Aurora, Berthoud, Campion, Denver, Fort Collins, and [...]
Colorado drug industry is big business, and when law enforcement talks about being tough on crime, they mean extra tough on illegal traffickers.
Drug trafficking charges are treated more seriously – and carry far heavier penalties – than possession, sale, and manufacturing charges.
If you are facing trafficking accusations, remember that you are innocent until proven guilty. Fighting back can be intimidating, but it can be (and has been) done.
In today’s post, we share the five most common defense [...]
Colorado is a national leader in progressive attitudes towards marijuana. Possession of other controlled substances, on the other hand, is still very much illegal in our state, and you can expect serious criminal consequences for this offense, just as you would anywhere else in the US.
Nevertheless, drug possession charges do not equate to a conviction. In many cases, it may be possible to use a number of defense strategies to minimize your consequences. Depending on the specifics of your [...]
Last month, the city of Denver hosted its first free legal clinic designed to help Coloradans with old drug convictions to have their records expunged according to new legislation.
In 2017 (three years after Amendment 64 was passed, and one year after it went into effect), additional legislation was passed in an effort to offer some reparative justice to those previously convicted of low-level drug crimes that would be considered legal under current law.
If you currently have an old [...]
The abuse of prescription drugs is an emerging epidemic that’s now recognized as a significant threat to public health. The death toll from prescription drug abuse is huge, and even includes a number of celebrities, like Prince, Tom Petty, and Anna Nicole Smith.
As the number of deaths from prescription drugs continues to rise sharply across the US, the federal government has commissioned various agencies to combat the prescription drug epidemic. Many states, including Colorado, augment the federal government’s efforts [...]
Most criminal cases in Denver do not end with a jury verdict. They end with a decision: whether to accept a plea agreement, reject the offer, keep negotiating, or prepare for trial. That decision can shape your record, your freedom, your sentence, your probation terms, and your future long after the court date.
A plea bargain is not just “taking a deal.” It is a legal agreement that may involve reduced charges, dismissed counts, sentencing limits, probation terms, restitution, treatment [...]
A police crash report can make a serious collision look settled before the defense has examined the evidence. It may assign fault, estimate speed, describe the point of impact, and frame the driver’s conduct as reckless or impaired. In a Denver vehicular assault case, those early conclusions can influence charging decisions, plea negotiations, and how prosecutors present the case.
The problem is that a police report is not proof. Officers often prepare crash reports based on witness statements, final vehicle [...]
Assault charges in Colorado can range from a misdemeanor accusation after a physical confrontation to a serious felony carrying years in prison. The difference usually depends on the alleged intent, the level of injury, whether a weapon was involved, and whether the alleged victim falls into a protected category under Colorado law.
That distinction matters immediately. A misdemeanor assault case may still carry jail time, fines, a permanent criminal record, and collateral consequences for employment, housing, licensing, and your reputation. [...]