The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that warrantless searches and seizures are presumptively invalid. Warrants are required before law enforcement may conduct a wiretap. Neutral and Detached Judicial Officers May Issue Warrants A judge or magistrate issuing a search warrant must be neutral and detached. Judges and magistrates are not to be…
Jury selection is the first stage of any criminal jury trial. Sometimes it is referred to conversationally as jury de-selection. This is because jury selection is a process of questioning far more jurors than the number of jurors that will actually hear the trial, and eliminating jurors one by one until both parties have completed…
When a defendant is charged with a crime, the defendant will often challenge the prosecution’s evidence by presenting evidence in his or her defense. This evidence may come in the form of videos, audio recordings, documents, or other physical, tangible evidence. This evidence may come in the form of the testimony of the defendant himself…
People v. Hernandez, No. 09SC615 (Colo. April 11, 2011) TOPICS: Leaving the Scene of An Accident Sufficiency of the Evidence Driver must Identify Self as Driver Facts: Chivalry is not dead. Mr. Hernandez allegedly drove an SUV after a party, and crashed into another car. The occupants of the other car suffered some serious injuries….
The defense attorneys at Masterson Hall are experienced and battle-tested Colorado DUI and DWAI attorneys who knows their way around the courtroom. When you get arrested for drunk driving, experience counts. When you are fighting for your freedom and your driving privileges, you need a smart, creative attorney who is not afraid to fight for…
The Exclusionary Rule and the Burden of Proof In Colorado an accused person can challenge any and all evidence obtained illegally by the police. When such evidence is challenged and found to the obtained in violation of either the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution or Section 7 of Article II of the Colorado Constitution,…
In Re: People v. Williamson, Case No. 10SA325 (Colo. April 11, 2011) TOPICS: Evidence Soliciting / Prostitution Rape Shield Definition of “Sexual Conduct” Facts: The prosecution charged Mr. Williamson with kidnapping and sexual assault. Mr. Williamson claimed the complaining witness works as a prostitute, and wanted to admit other instances of her prostitution to prove she…
The sentencing scheme under the Colorado sentencing guidelines, which dictates the presumptive range established for all classified felony offenses within the state, is generally governed by Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS) § 18-1.3-401, et seq. The specific statutes controlling what sentence a person receives is ultimately very case specific, so discussing your case with an experienced criminal defense…
WALL v. KHOLI, 562 U. S. ____ (2011), No. 09–868 (March 7, 2011) (argued November 29, 2010) TOPICS: Tolling of time period for Writ of Habeas Corpus Post-conviction remedies Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act Facts: Rhode Island convicted Mr. Kholi of ten counts of sexual assault, and the trial court sentenced him to consecutive…
People v. Gallegos (Colo. April 11, 2011) TOPICS: Wiretapping Statutory Violation and Remedy Neutral and Detached Magistrate Appearance of Impropriety of Judge Facts: The Chief Judge in El Paso County, Judge Samelson, signed a series of wiretaps that ensnared five separate people the prosecution accused of some drug distribution conspiracy. The Court consolidated all the…