Last year we shared a story about a Judge in Kentucky who relieved a jury because he believed they would be biased on race. Judge Stevens determined that an all-white jury in the mixed community of Louisville could not necessarily offer a fair verdict against a black defendant. So he dismissed the jury in the interest of […]
One Crime, Two Cases: Wrongful Death Claims and Manslaughter Charges Manslaughter is a serious crime that can cause a great deal of damage. The crime of “manslaughter” can apply when an individual unintentionally or intentionally caused the death of another person. Voluntary manslaughter is considered an intentional crime and is sometimes described as having an […]
Imagine this: You and your spouse are out running errands and you are finally at your last stop. In the meantime, your preschooler has fallen asleep and there is no way you are going to wake this peaceful child for a 15 minute chore. So you run in, grab what you need and head back […]
You may have seen people with ankle monitors, or heard of those who get home detention as a sentence, but who actually qualifies for alternative sentencing and how does it work? Alternative sentencing embodies consequences that minimize the use full incarceration. It includes work release programs, home detention, weekender programs and treatment based releases. Usually […]
AAA recently released a study indicating that crash risk increases for every hour of sleep lost. While it has long been understood that sleepiness affected driving negatively, this study looked more closely at the situation in order to define what that means for drivers. How Much Sleep Does One Need? The National Sleep Foundation and […]
Colorado drivers have to drive carefully if they don’t want to lose their driver’s licenses. If they get cited with a traffic violation, in addition to paying fines and court costs, they are assessed a number of points (points are bad). This means that every driver starts out with zero points and then gains points […]
Next week, the ballots of 9 states have some sort of marijuana related legislation for voters to decide on and the results may significantly change the landscape of legal marijuana across the country. Where is Marijuana Legal Now? Currently 4 states (Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska) and the District of Columbia have legal medical and […]
Ballot selfies are when people take pictures of themselves at the voting booth or with their completed ballot and then share it with others, typically on social media. It seems like a simple thing and selfies are ubiquitous, but not all states consider them benign. In fact, in Colorado, ballot selfies are illegal and this […]
The elections are less than a month away and while most of us are looking forward to it simply being over with, there are some very important state and local proposals to learn about. Here are the amendments, propositions and ballot questions you can expect to see in Denver. Amendments Amendments are constitutional and affect the […]
Victor Zuniga was travelling along the highway in Colorado when he was stopped by a state trooper. He was nervous, as most of us are when pulled over, and the cop smelled raw marijuana, that is, it didn’t smell like he had been smoking, just that there was pot in the car. The officer took […]