Criminal charges and court cases occur every day in Colorado and involve good people. If you are charged with a crime like Disorderly Conduct, C.R.S. 18-9-106 or Assault and looking at a plea agreement, a good criminal defense lawyer will try and indentify something about you that is broken. Why? Because judges and deputy district attorneys from Larimer County to Pueblo County want to find something about you (like alcohol abuse) which is broken so they can say they fixed you to prevent a crime from occurring again.
Let’s say, for example, that you are charged with Assault, C.R.S. 18-3-202, in Denver County, for a fight you were in when drunk. The judge and DA will want to find what contributed or caused your behavior. If they can find something like alcohol abuse, a certain amount of the blame can be shifted to your condition, brokenness, or addiction. When blame is shifted, you don’t get punished as severely. Your “condition” caused oart of the behavior rather than your bad character (which we punish with jail).
So, sex offenders may have sex addictions requiring sex offender treatment. Alcohol drinkers may require alcohol education and treatment. Thieves may require counseling and drug users drug treatment. It seems that if you can find an ailment today, there is a therapist offering treatment for your problem. And, judges and DAs in Douglas, Jefferson and Araphoe County love the “cure” philosophy. From a criminal defense attorney perspective I love the philosophy rather than the “bad character” philosophy. It keeps my clients out of jail.
If charged with a crime, don’t be afraid to be broken. It can save you a long stay in the county jail or prison. We have referrals to many treatment providers who can evaluate you and provide a diagnosis and treatment for conditions like alcohol abuse. Generally these treaters do a good job at identifying some deficit in your life and a plan to fix the problem.
If you think you’ve got it all together and are in great shape, think again. The jail or prison sentence you avoid might be your own. If charged with a crime in Colorado, exercise your right to remain silent and call us at 303-731-0719. Together, with a therapists help, we can protect your future.