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Photo Of Kyle B. Sawyer

Charged With A Crime? It Doesn’t Mean You’re Guilty.

Contributing To The Delinquency Of A Minor

Denver Contributing To The Delinquency Of A Minor Is Often Related To Alcohol

The Denver crime of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor frequently arises when a young adult or parent furnishes alcohol to teenagers. Contributing to the Delinquency is essentially complete when an adult “induces, aids or encourages” a child to violate any federal, state, municipal or county law. The problem comes when the Denver Police broadly define “induces, aids or encourages.” Because a child cannot legally possess alcohol (except at home under parental supervision), giving a child alcohol causes the child to violate alcohol possession laws, like Minor in Possession of Alcohol. The same logic applies to helping a child to shoplift or sharing marijuana with a child. Contributing to the Delinquency is similar to child abuse.

Defense For Contributing To The Delinquency Of A Minor In Jefferson County Courts

C.R.S. 18-6-701 defines “child” as anyone under the age of 18. This is the definition which Jefferson County Court judges will use for Contributing to the Delinquency of Minor charges. Also, there is an affirmative defense involving the reasonable belief of the person charged that the child was over 18. While this affirmative defense may or may not be available in your case, it is a powerful tool our Arvada and Lakewood defense lawyers use in discussions with deputy district attorneys and other government lawyers. A Colorado jury will get to hear this affirmative defense if you have a reasonable belief the child was 18, and they are in fact over 15.

Sentencing In A Douglas County Court For Contributing To The Delinquency Of A Minor

A violation of Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor law located at C.R.S. 18-6-701, is either a class 1 misdemeanor or a class 4 felony. This level of felony makes the defendant qualified for a possible prison sentence from two to six years, plus parole. Many courts in Douglas County, Parker and Castle Rock will consider probation for a first-time offense, if the circumstances are minor. For a violation which posed a risk of serious bodily injury to another person, such as a child driving drunk, a parent could get some jail time. If the injury was serious, such as a shooting, there is a good chance the parent or other adult furnishing a gun to a teenager would go to prison.

Probation Sentence For Contributing To The Delinquency Of A Minor In Arapahoe County, Colorado

A probation sentence is valuable in Arapahoe County for a defendant who seeks to avoid incarceration, but the type of conviction is critical to a person’s future. Permanent felony convictions will prevent security clearances and employment with national businesses. The statute defining Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, C.R.S. 18-6-701, even requires a court to notify the Colorado Department of Education once a person is convicted if that person is an employee of a school district. See our Sentencing Questions and Answers for more information. Our Aurora and Englewood criminal defense lawyers have defended hundreds of clients and protected their employability.

Adams County Contributing To The Delinquency Of A Minor – Right To Remain Silent

From the beginning of your Adams County Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor case, when police contact you, it is essential that you remain silent. Our top criminal defense attorneys possess many more options to get your case dismissed, or to obtain a favorable plea agreement, when you have not spoken with police. Westminster and Northglenn Officers are trained to gather statements and admissions from the accused which will defeat standard defenses. Like deputy district attorneys, we know Colorado criminal law well and can use that knowledge for your benefit. Imagine how your future will be different with or without a felony conviction. Imagine the harm of going to prison and not being able to pay your bills. Remaining silent is a must, not an option.

If you learn that Denver police want to ask you a few questions, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent and contact our aggressive defense lawyers 24 hours a day at 303-731-0719. Together, we can protect your future.

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