How Plea Bargaining Works in Denver Criminal Court Cases
July 29, 2026
One of the most severe consequences of a run-in with the law follows you long after your sentence is complete: living with a criminal record.
A criminal record is not only embarrassing, but also compromises many aspects of your life, including employment, higher education and even housing applications. In many ways, a criminal record encourages former offenders to turn to crime just to make a living.
Fortunately, it may be possible to have your criminal record sealed or expunged. While, [...]
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 [...]
If you are seeking employment, a new apartment or home, or if you need to get a loan, there’s a very high likelihood that the people in charge of deciding whether or not you’ll get what you want are going to do a background check on you.
Why should you care?
Because background checks contain all kinds of important information about you. Personal information. Employment information. Financial information.
They also bring up your criminal record.
No big deal, though, right? [...]
Do you want your criminal record to follow you around for the rest of your life? Be accessed by the public? Ruin your chances of a normal professional and personal life?
If your answer to these questions is no, then you should contact an experienced Colorado criminal defense attorney to find out if your criminal record is eligible to be sealed or expunged. Not every record qualifies, but it’s worth pursuing so you might finally be able to put [...]
Everyone makes mistakes. Especially when we’re young, figuring out who we are and learning about the world. What no one wants is the mistakes of their wayward youth to follow them around when they become adults.
That’s why a bill that Governor John Hickenlooper signed in May is so important.
Co-sponsored by state Representative Pete Lee, D-Colorado Springs, and state Senator John Cooke, R-Weld County, the bill makes it easier for juveniles to have their criminal records expunged for certain [...]
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. [...]