Misdemeanor Defense Lawyers in Colorado Springs

Misdemeanors are charged in County Court and move quickly, which makes them easy to treat as minor. That instinct causes problems. A misdemeanor conviction is a permanent criminal record until it is sealed, it can carry jail, and it can affect a job, a professional license, housing, immigration status, and a security clearance.

The two classes

Since March 1, 2022, Colorado has two misdemeanor classes:

• Class 1: up to 364 days in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both
• Class 2: up to 120 days in county jail, a fine of up to $750, or both

Petty offenses sit below them, and some conduct that used to be a misdemeanor is now a petty offense or a civil infraction. Drug misdemeanors and traffic misdemeanors are graded on their own scales. Common misdemeanors include third degree assault, lower-value theft, harassment, violating a protection order, and reckless driving.

Those are maximums. Most misdemeanor sentences are well below them, and many cases end without jail. But a conviction’s cost usually lies in what it does to your record, not in the sentence.

Time limits

Misdemeanors generally have to be charged within 18 months, misdemeanor traffic offenses within a year, and petty offenses within six months.

Resolving a misdemeanor well

Most misdemeanor cases are resolved by negotiation. The leverage in that negotiation comes from the same groundwork as any other case: whether the stop or contact with police was lawful, whether the evidence supports every element, and whether a deferred judgment, diversion, or an amended charge is available that avoids a conviction. In a deferred judgment for a misdemeanor, the case is dismissed if you meet the conditions for up to two years.

Not every misdemeanor should go to trial, but very few should be pleaded on the first court date without that groundwork being done. If a conviction does happen, most misdemeanors can later be sealed. See record sealing.

How we handle misdemeanor cases

We review the police report and any video before recommending a path, and we look specifically for options that keep a conviction off your record. Where the state’s case is weak, we say so and push back. Where it isn’t, we work toward the resolution that limits the long-term damage rather than the one that is fastest to close. Both partners have worked as prosecutors, which helps in knowing what a district attorney’s office will and won’t agree to.