Criminal Law

Miguel Ita stabbing: DA frustrated by new rules for charging fifteen year olds as adults

Last week, we told you about the decision of the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office to name Miguel Angel Ita, fifteen, as the prosecutorial target in a fatal Lakewood stabbing and begin the procedure to try him as an adult. That process has changed, and not for the better in the view of Je ... More >>

"Big Bitch" policy divides DA candidates George Brauchler, Leslie Hansen

This week's feature, "Sucker Punch," traces how an assault at a heavy metal concert turned into a habitual criminal prosecution in Arapahoe County, with one of the defendants facing a mountain of time while the other got probation. In the three-way race for district attorney in the 18th Judicial Dis ... More >>

Marijuana: DA Stan Garnett defends telling feds to back off Boulder MMCs

Update:This week, Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney John Walsh asking him not to send seizure threats to any Boulder medical marijuana dispensaries conforming to state and local land use regulations. When asked about the note, Walsh's spokesman said his boss woul ... More >>

How victim rights became a juggernaut shaping spending, laws and the future of punishment

Michael Hancock prostitution story: Do Denver cops have different rules for mayor-elect, press?

Michael Hancock.​Although the uproar over reports allegedly linking mayor-elect Michael Hancock to the Denver Players prostitution operation has died down, one journalist -- Complete Colorado's Todd Shepherd, who broke the story in the first place -- isn't giving up. But he's hit a roadblock w ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Rob Corry wouldn't sign MMJ clean-up bill if he were John Hickenlooper

Rob Corry.​Last October, attorney Rob Corry wrote to John Hickenlooper to ask the then-Denver mayor to stop prosecuting Lacy Lee, a woman busted for smoking pot at a pro-cannabis rally; the case was later dropped. Now, Corry's written to Hick again, this time to offer expert analysis on HB 104 ... More >>

ACLU objects to Ken Buck's comments after $295K Operations Numbers Game settlement

Ken Buck.​In 2008, the Weld County Sheriff's Office raided Amalia's Translation and Tax Service in Greeley as part of Operations Numbers Game, an effort to bust identity thieves who were also undocumented immigrants. The ACLU filed suit over the action -- and this week, Weld District Attorney/ ... More >>

Columbine effect 12 years later: Are schools and cops going too far in prosecuting juveniles?

Evie Hudak​In the dozen years since the Columbine shootings, school officials have become hypervigilant about potential troublemakers in their midst -- so hyper, in fact, that state lawmakers are now seeking a formal review of school disciplinary procedures to determine if principals are too q ... More >>

Jacob Christenson arson case: Denver Post backpedals on story, confused about kid stuff

Jacob & Mom.​Cloaked in secrecy, juvenile court matters are so rarely covered in Colorado that it's been instructive watching the Denver Post fumble a bit in its reporting on Jacob Christenson, the eleven-year-old in Parker charged with second-degree arson over a fire that caused $195,000 in d ... More >>

Dog attack: Bicyclist Renee Legro, mauled for twenty minutes, sues sheep herders

Nice doggie.​What do you get when you mix Colorado's growing culture of outdoors enthusiasts with the state's dying breed of mountain ranchers? If you're Renee Legro of Glenwood Springs, the answer is a twenty-minute attack during a bicycle race that resulted in hundreds of stitches, not to m ... More >>

Children behind bars: Why Colorado is trigger-happy when it comes to sentencing kids like Alan Sudduth as adults

Alan Sudduth was sixteen years old when prosecutors charged him as an adult.​Our cover story this week recounts the tale of Alan Sudduth, a juvenile who was sentenced to seventy years in prison in 1996 for the murder of a cab driver -- even though a recent hearing showed that the prosecution's ... More >>

Right-to-work lightning rod Ryan Frazier cleared of wrongdoing for political contributions

Up-and-coming Aurora city councilman Ryan Frazier put his political career on the line by backing Amendment 47, the hugely controversial right-to-work ballot measure that failed in the polls last month. Among other political attacks, the 31-year-old Republican was the subject of an ominous televisio ... More >>

The Good, The Bad & The Mad

What happens to the mentally ill in the justice system is just crazy.

Documents Outline DA Mitch Morrissey’s Complaints Against Denver Post Pulitzer Candidate

The Last Six to Face Life for Juvenile Crimes

Who's Sorry Now?

A look at the revolving door of term limits.

Sis Boom Bah

In one afternoon, this Montbello student went from cheerleading to lockup.

Anatomy of a Cover-up

Days after the Columbine shootings, Jeffco officials were already lying about what they knew. What about now?

Anatomy of a Cover-up

Days after the Columbine shootings, Jeffco officials were already lying about what they knew. What about now?

Law and Order

Denver's DA candidates take a seat in the docket.

Scratching the Bitch

Joseph Paiva was born defective, but prosecutors stamped him a habitual criminal.

Bad Boys

Denver's Juvenile Court just turned one hundred. The next years could be rough.

The Shifting Drug War

The pendulum is swinging back from stiff mandatory sentences for drug offenses.

Disorder in the Court

Judge John Kane has seen too many casualties in the War on Drugs. Now he demands a government retreat.

Dead Reckoning

Donta Page's sentence revives Colorado's death-penalty debate -- but brings no closure. The Conclusion of "Penalty Zone."

Judge and Jury

With several controversial cases coming up, Colorado's death-penalty decision moves to a three-judge panel.

Murderers' Row

Until two years ago, Colorado juries weighed whether men deserved to die. Now judges decide their fate.

Justice, Boulder Style

The county will soon have its first new DA in 28 years. But in order for justice to be done, former cop Steve Thomas thinks the office needs a complete overhaul.

Unnecessary Roughness

A Denver Bronco's domestic-violence case gets complicated.

Locked Up for Life

Is life imprisonment the solution for juvenile offenders?

Sight Unseen

Carole Abbott was an expert witness in child sex-abuse cases. What she witnessed at home was a different matter.

Unlawful Entry

The high price of Denver's drug war: lies, bad busts, cops in harm's way -— and the death of an innocent man.

Take the Money and Run

It took sixteen years and international extradition, but the Colorado Attorney General’s Office finally got its man.

I'm Sorry, Really I Am

Communities rely on old techniques for a new style of justice.

The Spin Crowd

Odor in the Court

A police sting on a perfume dealer nets a small-time amount of goods--plus two vehicles. The dealer says the whole thing stinks.

Foreclosure Encounters

By the time one of these investors gets his foot inside the door, your house is as good as gone.

Say It Loud

Anne Sulton missed out on the civil-rights movement of the Sixties. Now she's making up for it.

A Closet Full of Suits

When Paula Larsen feels wronged, she sues--and she never lets go.

Mutual Contempt

A defense attorney accused of being disrespectful to a judge is off the hook--for now.

A Fight to the Death

Frank Rodriguez was sentenced to die twelve years ago. Are we there yet?

Better Shred Than Read

Beyond Contempt

A judge and a prosecutor in Gilpin County are after a new breed of criminals: jurors and defense attorneys.

Black Marks

The Denver Police Department acts like it has something to hide about its clash with students at Thomas Jefferson High School. It does.

Motion to Dismiss

Should Judge Lynne Hufnagel be benched? Ask the bankrupt cabbies, bullied witnesses and banished lawyers who've tasted her bitter brand of justice.

Trial by Ire

The candidates in the Denver's DA's race refuse to come to order.

Jack's Back

The state had an opportunity to lock up rapist and career criminal Jack Ainsworth for good. Now it's too late.

WAR OF THE WORDS

HOW AN EAGER DA TRANSFORMED A NEIGHBORHOOD SPAT INTO A HEADLINE-GRABBING HATE CRIME.THE HATING GAME WHEN THE ARONSONS TALKED, THE JEFFCO DA LISTENED. BIG MISTAKE.

THE FIGHT OF THEIR LIVES

DON'T LOOK NOW

HE WATCHED A CRIME FROM HIS OFFICE WINDOW. NOW THEY'RE WATCHING HIM.SHOOT TO CHILL WILL WITNESS INTIMIDATION TURN THIS ASSAULT ON THE 16TH STREET MALL INTO AN OPEN-AND-SHUT CASE?