How Colorado Extradition Works for Out-of-State Criminal Charges
September 22, 2026
If a police officer pulls you over for a traffic violation, they might ask to search your vehicle. You have the right to say no, which you can and should exercise, even when feel you have nothing to hide.
What about traveling on public transit, though? What are your rights in then?
Because public transit is paid for by tax dollars, it is considered public property. However, you still have the right to refuse a search of your person unless [...]
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 [...]
Extradition is about where a criminal case will be handled—not whether the person is guilty. If someone is arrested in Colorado on another state’s warrant, the immediate questions are usually whether to waive extradition, whether bail is available, how long the process may take, and what can actually be challenged before the person is returned.
The same issue can run in the other direction. A person may be arrested in another state because Colorado issued the warrant. In that situation, [...]
A confidential informant almost never speaks to the judge who signs the warrant. Instead, the judge reads a detective’s sworn summary of what an unnamed person allegedly said. That gap can become one of the most important issues in a Denver drug, weapons, theft, or other criminal case.
The defense does not cross-examine the informant when the warrant is issued. At that stage, the focus is on the affidavit itself: what the informant allegedly knew, how police verified the information, [...]
Colorado fentanyl possession charges can become serious felonies at relatively low weight thresholds. The law focuses on the weight of the material, compound, mixture, or preparation containing fentanyl rather than only the amount of pure fentanyl inside it. That means a small-looking quantity of powder or counterfeit pills can result in a much more serious charge once the substance is tested and weighed.
Weight is only part of the case. What the accused person knew, whether the state can prove [...]