Criminal Defense Lawyers in Colorado Springs

A criminal charge moves fast at the start. There is a bond to post, a protection order to live under, and a first court date that arrives before most people have seen a single page of the evidence. This page explains how a case moves through the courts in Colorado Springs and El Paso County. The pages for each kind of charge explain what changes.

Where your case will be heard

State charges in El Paso County are prosecuted by the District Attorney for the Fourth Judicial District. Misdemeanors, traffic offenses, and petty offenses go to County Court. Felonies go to District Court. Some cases start in the Colorado Springs Municipal Court instead, when the charge is a violation of a city ordinance. Federal charges are a separate system with different courts and prosecutors; see federal charges.

Arrest, bond, and the first appearance

Almost everyone charged with a crime in Colorado is entitled to bail. The exceptions are narrow. The court sets the type of bond and the conditions of release to make sure you come back to court and to protect others, and it must take your financial circumstances into account. Conditions often matter as much as the dollar amount: no alcohol, no contact with a named person, no leaving the state, or monitoring.

A request to change bond or its conditions is one of the first things a lawyer can do for you.

The protection order in every case

At your first appearance, a protection order takes effect automatically in every Colorado criminal case, not only domestic violence cases. It forbids harassing, intimidating, or retaliating against any victim or witness, and it lasts until the case ends. In many cases the court adds terms, such as no contact at all, or staying away from a home. You can ask the court to modify it. Until it does, violating it is a separate crime, a class 1 misdemeanor for this kind of order, even if the other person invited the contact.

The early hearings

After the first appearance, most misdemeanor cases go to a pretrial conference with the prosecutor, where discovery, offers, and next steps are discussed.

In felony cases, a preliminary hearing is available on demand for the most serious charges (class 1, 2, and 3 felonies and the top two drug felony levels) and for some others, including crimes of violence and sexual offenses. A judge decides only whether there is probable cause, not guilt. The hearing is still worth having, because it tests the prosecution’s evidence under oath early. Whether to demand one, and when to waive it, is a strategic decision.

Deadlines that protect you

Once you plead not guilty, Colorado law requires the trial to start within six months or the charges must be dismissed, subject to exceptions such as delays you request. The prosecution also has a limited time to file most charges in the first place: three years for most felonies and 18 months for most misdemeanors, with no limit for murder and some other serious crimes.

Ways a case can end

Most criminal cases don’t end in a trial. They end in a dismissal, a plea to a lesser charge, a diversion agreement, or a deferred judgment. In a deferred judgment, you plead guilty but the court holds off on entering the conviction for up to two years in a misdemeanor case or four years in a felony case. If you meet every condition, the plea is withdrawn and the case is dismissed for good. Whether any of these is available depends on the charge, your history, and the evidence, and it is negotiated, not handed out.

Some cases should go to trial. The decision is yours, and it should be made with an honest view of the evidence and of what a conviction would cost.

What a conviction can cost beyond the sentence

A conviction can affect a professional license, a security clearance, military service, immigration status, housing, and the right to own a firearm. People often find out about these consequences only after a plea. We raise them at the start, because they can change which outcome is actually best for you.

See felonies and misdemeanors for how Colorado classifies offenses and the sentencing ranges that go with each class.

What to do now

Don’t talk about the case with the police, the other people involved, or anyone online. Follow every bond condition and the protection order exactly, even if you think they’re unfair. Write down what happened while you remember it, and keep your paperwork, including the bond paperwork and the next court date.

How we handle criminal cases

We start with your bond conditions and the protection order, because they shape your life while the case is pending. Then we get the discovery and read all of it: reports, video, lab results, and witness statements. We look for every point where the case can be challenged or narrowed, and we tell you plainly what we find. Both partners have worked as deputy district attorneys, so we know how the other side builds and evaluates a case.