Denver Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

In our last post, we were talking about a U.S. Supreme Court decision that said a judge could not impose a sentence exceeding the guidelines in order to allow the offender to attend a rehabilitation program. Since that decision came down, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on a similar case, this time involving a man convicted of possessing child pornography.

In the appellate case, the defendant had violated a condition of his release: completion of a sex offender treatment program. When he appeared before the same judge for resentencing, the judge gave him 22 additional months in prison and 14 months of supervised release.

A recent U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision may be the first to follow a precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court just last month. The case involved the sentence of a man convicted of possessing child pornography. Though this decision does not directly affect Colorado, it may pave the way for this state to apply a new Supreme Court precedent to sex offenders.

In April, we wrote about a case being argued to the Supreme Court in which a judge sentenced a young woman to the maximum so that she would have time to qualify for and to complete a prison rehabilitation program (see "The judge wants me to go to rehab, but I say no, no, no").

A Boulder, Colorado woman was arrested after her boyfriend told police she had hit him. The charges include third-degree assault and misdemeanor animal cruelty. She may face additional charges when the investigation is complete.

The incident occurred at the boyfriend's apartment in the early hours of July 5. The woman's boyfriend claims the 21-year-old struck him in the face and blew heroin smoke in the face of his roommate's cat. The suspect denies the drug allegations.

Criminal defense attorneys throughout Colorado will have good news for some of their clients. Earlier this week, the U.S. Sentencing Commission approved the retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. As a result, offenders convicted of crack cocaine crimes may qualify for early release.

The Fair Sentencing Act sought to equalize sentencing guidelines for crack and powder cocaine crimes. Both Congressional leaders and civil rights advocates said the old guidelines had a disproportionate impact on African Americans.

As the court mulls another request to suppress the details of the allegations against football player Perrish Cox, the organizers of Denver's SlutWalk are encouraging women and men from every corner of Colorado to attend the demonstration this weekend. The event is part of a nationwide -- indeed, international campaign to raise awareness of sexual assault crimes.

A name of the event has stirred up a good deal of controversy, but the organizers remind critics that the first SlutWalk was organized after a Toronto officer made a disparaging remark about sexual assault victims. The officer reportedly suggested that if women want to avoid being the victims of sex crimes, they should "avoid dressing like sluts."

In a nationwide operation last month, federal agents arrested more than 2,400 convicted aliens and immigration fugitives. Of those, 78 were found in Colorado, including a man in Denver who has been convicted of first-degree sexual assault against a child and domestic violence.

The seven-day crackdown, dubbed "Cross Check," was the largest sweep to date by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agency reported that hundreds of federal agents were involved in the effort that targeted both legal and illegal immigrants convicted of crimes. As the ICE director said, the operation underscores the current administration's focus on "tracking down fugitives who game the nation's immigration system."

A Colorado man entered a plea of not guilty on Tuesday to 28 counts connected to three rapes and one attempted rape. Police suspect he was involved in another sexual assault, as well; charges in that case are pending.

Police say the 32-year-old has lived in Colorado for about two years. At the time of his arrest, he made his home in Lakewood. The rapes he is accused of occurred in Golden and Westminster, the attempted rape in Lakewood.

The United States Supreme Court issued a majority opinion last week that earned sharp criticism from Justice Antonin Scalia. The decision is the Court's most recent interpretation of the crimes covered by the Armed Career Criminal Act. The federal law provides for enhanced sentencing of offenders in gun crimes who have three prior felony convictions for violent crimes or serious drug crimes.

The ACCA increases the standard minimum 10-year sentence for a gun crime to 15 years. While the crime that triggers the provision must be a federal crime, the three prior convictions may be in any court. The upshot is that someone convicted of three crimes in Colorado and subsequently facing federal firearm charges will be looking at a minimum of 15 years in prison.