Wednesday, June 9th, 2010
Frequently I receive calls from individuals seeking my services after they’ve tried to handle the initial proceedings representing themselves. Many times these individuals have already entered guilty pleas and as a consequence have forfeited nearly all of their rights to contest the charge. Many times when such individuals represent themselves they enter into plea agreements without any appreciation for the consequences of such pleas. Convictions for criminal offenses can have life-long consequences. Once you have, for example, a domestic violence conviction you may not be able to rent a house or apartment and you will certainly lose your right to own, purchase and possess firearms. It is very difficult to undo guilty pleas and convictions after they have been accepted and entered by the court. For that reason, it is imperative that before you enter a plea you have the assistance of competent and effective counsel.
Competent counsel will be able to evaluate the merits of your case and will identify defenses and other matters in mitigation. Effective counsel will know whether the plea bargain being offered is even a good deal. There are so many instances where plea bargains offered to someone representing themselves are far worse than the plea bargain I have been able to negotiate on behalf of my clients in similar cases.
If you are charged with a criminal offense, the time to consult with an attorney is before you accept any plea agreement from the District Attorney. At Seawell and Buckmelter, PC, we will ensure that your rights are protected and that you receive the best possible outcome whether it is derived through a plea bargain or through a “not guilty” verdict at trial. In these difficult financial times, effective legal services can be costly and difficult to afford. However, if you compare the sever and adverse impact on your rights, reputation, good character and employability from a criminal conviction to the cost of competent and effective legal services you will appreciate that a good lawyer is a sound investment. Before you make a potential life-long mistake by going at it alone, take the time to give us a call and set up an appointment so we can discuss what Seawell and Buckmelter can do for you.
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Governor Ritter Signs Drug Sentencing Reform Bill
Flanked by Rep. Priola, Sen. Steadman, Rep. Waller, Sen. Morse, Rep. Levy, Sen. Newell, and Sen. Hudak
In a historic moment for criminal justice reform, Governor Bill Ritter signed ten bills into law at a signing ceremony this afternoon. Included in these, were three of CCJRC’s priority bills HB 1352 (drug sentencing reform), HB 1360 (reducing revocations for technical parole violations) and HB 1374 (new statutory parole guidelines). A big thank you goes out to all of the legislators who sponsored and supported all of this legislation.
Other bills signed into law include:
HB 1338 expands judicial discretion to allow the court to sentence someone to probation even if s/he has two or more prior felony convictions, excluding certain violent offenses.
HB 1347 which increases the minimum jail term required for repeat drunk driving convictions.
HB 1373 repeals the mandatory consecutive sentencing required for a conviction for escape, unless the escapee is on “inmate status.”
HB 1413 increases the minimum age from 14 to 16 years that would allow the district attorney to “direct file” charges against a juvenile in adult court, except in cases where the defendant is charged with murder or a sex offense.
SB 54 which requires a school district to provide educational services during the school year to a juvenile being held, pending charges as an adult, in a jail within the school district.
HB 1081 relocates the money laundering crime from the Controlled Substances Act to the fraud statute.
HB 1277 makes it a crime for an employee or a volunteer to have any sexual activity with a juvenile who is an inmate in a detention facility or community corrections program.
Tomorrow, Governor Ritter is also scheduled to sign into law SB 189 which authorizes county health departments to develop syringe exchange programs.
http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2010/05/bill_ritters_baby_steps_toward.php
Friday, December 18th, 2009
The Colorado Domestic Violence Offender Management Board has promulgated new Standards for Treatment for court ordered domestic violence offenders. http://dcj.state.co.us/odvsom/Domestic_Violence/DV_Pdfs/5.0%20Draft%20for%20Public%20Hearing%20with%20Annotated%20DVRNA.pdf These standards are likely to go into effect early in 2010 and represent profound and dramatic changes in the manner domestic violence offenders are counseled following convictions for offenses of domestic violence. Under the current guidelines offenders are generally required to attend a minimum thirty six (36) week treatment program. The proposed guidelines will change that already intensive treatment regimen with an apparent open ended or indefinite treatment program that’s duration is dependent upon a Multidisciplinary Treatment Team (MTT) initial assessment and continued reevaluation. The MTT is comprised of an Approved Provider, responsible criminal justice agency, and a treatment victim advocate.
Alarmingly, the new approach will give substantial power to the “approved provider” as one of the three (3) members of this MTT to make specific recommendations as to the level of treatment, the need for continued treatment and the successfulness of treatment. As the approved provider or therapist has a significant financial interest in continued treatment of the offender, their objectivity to make decisions unimpaired by their financial interest is at best questionable. While moving away from a “one size fits all” approach is welcomed, empowering therapist to inflate their paychecks by recommending lengthy terms of treatment is indefensible. With evaluations expected to cost around $500 and sessions averaging $30 per session, the amount of money at stake is enormous.
The new guidelines also prohibit an offender from seeking his own counseling with his spouse or significant other. In the past, someone involved in court order domestic violence counseling could also seek privately to address their relationship issues in couple’s or marriage counseling. The new guidelines flatly prohibit couple’s or marriage counseling during the period of domestic violence treatment.
Under the new guidelines, to be successfully terminated from treatment the offender must demonstrate certain progress in treatment to established criteria or “competencies.” Significantly such criteria includes full acceptance of responsibility or accountability for their behavior. As a practitioner who has counseled hundreds of clients charged with acts of domestic violence, there is practically no case in which the accused does not dispute some aspect of the alleged victim’s story or the allegations made by an aggressive cop seeking to justify an arrest. We all know in such circumstances the truth is usually somewhere in the middle. As such, many individuals charged with domestic violence will have to critically assess whether they can stomach ”admitting” acts they didn’t commit just to avoid the label of being in denial so they can progress through their treatment.
If you have recently been charged with an act of domestic violence it is critically important that you discuss these new developments and the effect such changes will have on your case and your ability to successfully complete probation before you enter into any plea agreement waiving all your rights to defend against the charge. At Seawell and Buckmelter, PC, the Denver Metro area criminal defense attorneys, we have studied these new laws and will fight zealously to protect your interests
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
What you are reading now is the first post on the Seawell & Buckmelter, PC blog. As you can tell, we are undergoing a redevelopment of our website. As this blog grows, we hope to provide you with relevant articles and information to keep you up to date on new laws, cases and information that can help you.
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