Colorado Springs Criminal Law Blog

The media publicity surrounding the upcoming trial of a woman accused of dragging a tow truck driver to his death has led the woman’s defense attorneys to consider moving her trial to another venue. The trial is scheduled in the El Paso County courts, but media publicity may have made it difficult for her to get a fair trial in that county. As experienced Colorado Springs criminal defense attorney Timothy Bussey told Fox 21 reporter Rachel Welte, however, getting a trial moved to a new venue is more difficult than merely showing that the media has covered it.

Instead, an argument to move a trial should be based on evidence that a cross-section of the community has been impacted by the media coverage so that they cannot fairly listen to the evidence in the case. A cross-section of the community is a representative sample showing that people from many different walks of life have all heard the negative press and formed an opinion about it that would prevent them from treating the parties in the case fairly.

Modern social media also makes changing a trial’s venue difficult. Before the spread of Internet and television news, a trial could often be moved to a neighboring county without worries that potential jurors there would have heard the damaging press. Today, however, it’s difficult to be certain that people in other Colorado counties have not heard the same news that has been heard in El Paso County.

As difficult as moving a trial can be, sometimes it’s necessary in order to ensure fairness. If you’ve been charged with a Colorado felony, attorney Timothy Bussey and the experienced legal team at The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. can help you fight for the best possible outcome. For a free and confidential consultation, call us today at (719) 475-2555.

After a person is convicted of a Colorado felony crime, the court will usually impose a sentence. Colorado sentencing law is complex and it often requires the court to consider the individual facts of the case and the life circumstances of the person being sentenced.

While Colorado felony sentencing is based on the six categories of felonies that dictate a minimum imprisonment length, the amount of time a person convicted of a felony might spend in jail or prison is lengthened if the court finds the conviction falls into one of five "special sentencing" categories.

According to the Colorado Legislative Council, the five "special sentencing" categories are:

• Crimes of violence;
• Crimes with sentence-enhancing circumstances;
• Crimes with significant mitigating factors;
• Crimes with significant aggravating factors; and
• Crimes that present an “extraordinary risk of harm to society.”

Many of the crimes under Colorado law may fall into more than one category, depending on the facts of the case. The court uses information in the pre-sentencing report and information provided at the sentencing hearing to decide whether any of the "special sentencing" categories apply. If at least one category applies, the court may increase the maximum sentence the convicted person is required to serve, including extra time for parole after any jail or prison sentence is complete.

The penalties for Colorado felony conviction are often strict and if a crime is found to have "special sentencing" factors, the convicted party may find themselves in prison for many years. If you’ve been charged with a felony in Colorado, contact an experienced Colorado Springs felony defense attorney at The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. who can help build an aggressive defense to fight for the best possible outcome in your case. For a confidential consultation, call us today at (719) 475-2555.

The Sheriff’s Crime Reduction Unit, a seven-member squad focusing on Colorado Springs drug crimes, has been temporarily disbanded after a shooting in Colorado Springs left one woman dead, according to a recent news report from KRDO.

Each of the seven unit members were reassigned to other law enforcement groups within the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and are expected to continue serving as sheriff’s deputies, according to the sheriff’s office. The reassignment follows an incident in which members of the unit were serving a warrant on another, unrelated person, when a woman suspected of escape and driving a stolen vehicle drove over one deputy’s foot as she was trying to leave the area. Another deputy fired a shot into the vehicle, which was later found to have resulted in the driver’s death.

Although the sheriff’s office stated that at least one deputy from the Crime Reduction Unit was involved in the shooting, the office did not specify whether or not the reassignments are related to the shooting. The sheriff’s office also stated that no decision has been made yet about whether or not to make the reassignments permanent. In 2010, the sheriff’s office credited the Crime Reduction Unit with 335 arrests and seizing over $46,000 of methamphetamines.

Convictions for drug-related crimes carry heavy penalties, so it’s crucial to fight to protect your rights if you’ve been charged with a drug crime. At The Bussey Law Firm, P.C., our experienced Colorado Springs drug crime defense attorneys fight for the best possible outcome in each client’s case. For a free and confidential consultation, call us today at (719) 475-2555.

A federal analysis of data collected from all fifty U.S. states, including Colorado, found that while the number of adults convicted of felonies each year has increased overall in the United States, the percentage of those people who are required to serve a jail or prison sentence has actually gone down, according to a report released by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The report, which is based on data gathered in 2006, found that 1,132,290 adults faced a felony conviction in the U.S. in 2006. This number represents over 302,000 more people than were faced with a felony conviction in 1990. However, in 1990, 71 percent of those who were convicted of felonies in the United States were sent to prison as part or all of their sentence. By 2006, however, that number had decreased to 61 percent as states and local courts found different ways to penalize those who received felony convictions without actually sending those people to prison.

Further analysis of the data led the Bureau of Justice Statistics to conclude that, at least in part, the reduction in the percentage of people sentenced to prison terms after a felony conviction was due to an increase in probation as an option for certain people convicted of felonies. The percentage of individuals required to serve time in a county jail, instead of a state or federal prison, has also increased.

Felony crimes often involve serious offenses, and the penalties for a felony conviction are serious as well. If you’re facing a felony charge in Colorado, please don’t hesitate to contact the experienced Colorado felony defense attorneys at The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. We can help you build an aggressive defense that protects your legal rights and fights for the best possible outcome in your case. For a confidential consultation, call us today at (719) 475-2555.

In 1998, Colorado’s state legislature passed the Colorado Sex Offender Lifetime Supervision Act. This law allows courts to sentence certain people convicted of sex-related crimes in Colorado to a lifetime of treatment and supervision. The law’s main points cover sentencing, treatment, and supervision of certain people after they have received a criminal conviction for a sex-related offense.

First, the law allows courts to give an “indeterminate sentence” to a person convicted of any one or more of a long list of sex offenses. An indeterminate sentence does not set a specific amount of time the person convicted must serve. Instead, it sets a minimum amount of time, but allows the courts to keep the convicted person in prison for longer than the minimum (in some cases, up to the rest of that person’s natural life) if incarceration is deemed necessary for other people’s safety or for treatment.

In addition, the law provides separate provisions for treatment of those convicted of any of a wide range of sex offenses. Any sentence that includes probation, incarceration, parole, or community corrections must also require the person convicted to undergo treatment based on guidelines created by the Sex Offender Management Board.

Finally, in addition to an indeterminate sentence to jail or prison, courts may also impose an indeterminate length of time the person must be on probation or parole after jail or prison time is completed. Depending on the details of the person’s conviction, this probation period may last from ten years up to the rest of the person’s natural life.

Colorado law considers sex-related offenses to be serious crimes, and the penalties set by law are strict. If you’ve been charged with a sex offense in Colorado, please don’t hesitate to contact experienced Colorado Springs felony sex offense defense attorney Timothy Bussey at The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. He will fight to protect your rights and to seek the best possible outcome in your case. For a confidential consultation, call (719) 475-2555 today.

Several drivers were cited or arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs (DUI) in Colorado Springs and in other Colorado communities this weekend, as Colorado state and local police held sobriety checkpoints intended to cut down on a predicted rise in drinking and driving over the Labor Day Holiday, according to a recent article in the Colorado Springs Gazette.

The sobriety checkpoints included two in Colorado Springs. One was set up on North Powers. This checkpoint stopped 679 over the four hours it was in operation, according to police; a total of eight drivers were cited at this checkpoint on suspicion of violating Colorado’s drinking and driving laws.

The second Colorado Springs checkpoint was located on the northbound side of Academy Boulevard. This checkpoint stopped a total of 741 drivers. Thirteen of the drivers stopped on Academy Boulevard were evaluated on suspicion of DUI or a similar offense, and six were given citations. Five more drivers stopped at the Academy Boulevard checkpoint were cited on suspicion of having open alcohol containers in their vehicles, which Colorado law also prohibits.

These two checkpoints were part of Colorado’s “100 Days of Heat” campaign, which aims to cut down on potential DUIs by warning drivers of increased patrols and checkpoints, so that drivers will choose to ride with a sober driver or take public transportation if they plan to drink alcohol while they are out. During Labor Day, similar campaigns, including increased sobriety checkpoints, were held by police units throughout the United States.

Driving under the influence comes with serious penalties if a driver is convicted. If you’re facing DUI charges in Colorado, the experienced Colorado Springs DUI defense attorneys at The Bussey Law Firm, P.C. can help. For a free and confidential consultation, call us today at (719) 475-2555.