Understanding Colorado’s Deferred Judgment and Sentence Options for First Offenders
May 1, 2026
As a parent, you want to give your child the best start in life possible. For many, that means setting your child up for future success. How some people have chosen to accomplish this is by opening up a credit card in their child’s name.
This may seem like a logical thing to do – and something you’re doing to help your child build credit but be warned that this isn’t advised. No matter your intentions, you should never put [...]
Identity theft is a serious offense that can have devastating consequences for its victims. Worse, our state is apparently rife with it.
How so?
A recent national report identified that Colorado is second in the nation for identity theft. This alarming statistic means that local law enforcement will like be even more on the lookout for identity theft than before. Although this is largely a good thing for Coloradans, it also means that some law enforcement officials and prosecutors will [...]
Identity theft is a growing problem as more and more information is transmitted through digital technology. In 2014, there was a new identity fraud victim every 2 seconds. In other words, in the time it took you to read this far, there have probably been another five or six victims.
State governments have responded to the growing internet crime rate with harsh penalties for people accused of identity theft. And in some cases, they may even be prosecuted as federal [...]
A deferred judgment and sentence allows a first-time offender in Colorado to plead guilty, complete a period of court supervision, and then have the guilty plea withdrawn and the charge dismissed permanently. For someone facing their first criminal charge, this is often the best available outcome.
At the Law Office of Jacob Martinez, our Denver criminal defense team has negotiated deferred judgment agreements in Colorado courts since 2014.
How a Deferred Judgment and Sentence Works in ColoradoThe defendant enters [...]
Eyewitness testimony is undeniably a powerful form of evidence in criminal cases. However, there have been studies showing it is also one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions in Denver and across the United States. This suggests that human memory is not perfect and that some situations can lead to errors in identification.
In Denver, cases involving eyewitness misidentification span a wide range of crimes. You must defend against wrongful convictions, which requires a detailed review of the circumstances [...]
Violating a Colorado protection order can trigger a new criminal charge and contempt proceedings in the same court, and any new sentence must be served back-to-back with the sentence you were already facing, not at the same time. That means a single phone call, text message, or chance encounter can double your exposure while you are still on bond or probation. Denver criminal defense attorneys at the Law Office of Jacob Martinez have defended clients against these charges across Colorado [...]