H. Michael Steinberg has 42+ years of experience practicing Colorado criminal law. Mr. Steinberg strives to stay current with the ever changing aspects of criminal law issues and updates resulting in his extensive knowledge of successful criminal defense as well as appellate work. He is also an active member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Association, the Colorado Trial Lawyer's Association, and the Colorado and Arapahoe Bar Associations.
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As an ex Career DA and now as a Colorado criminal defense lawyer, I have been aware for more than 42  years of a loophole in the criminal law of Colorado that actually created an incentive for drunk drivers to flee the scene of car accidents.

That loophole has now been closed.

With the passage of House Bill 1084 – signed by the Governor on June 6, 2012 – the new law increases the possible penalties for leaving the scene of a serious bodily injury crash from a class 5 felony to a class 4 making it equivalent to possible penalties for drunk driving.

End the Incentive to Flee

The old Colorado law gave drunk drivers, especially repeat offenders, an incentive to not stop at the scene of a crash and call for help of injured people. It benefited drunk drivers with a lesser range of penalties for fleeing the scene and trying to hide out until they are sober. The consequence of this loophole at times might mean the life or death of someone needing immediate medical attention at the scene of a crash.

H. Michael’s Take:

Defending The Hit and Run Case In Colorado

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Quietly – in the night – the Colorado State Legislature “ended” a crime that – as a prosecutor – I only prosecuted one time in 13 years. Criminal Libel.

Colorado Repeal of Criminal Libel .

Senate Bill 12-102, repeals the crime of criminal libel.

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By H. Michael Steinberg Colorado Criminal Defense Lawyer

To understand the Colorado “retreat to the wall”  rule – you have to examine the case of  Idrogo v. People decided by the Colorado Supreme Court in 1991:

Here is the rule:

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Former Greeley police officer Daniel Shepherd was found not guilty by a Colorado jury on February 8, 2012.

What makes this case so important – is that the jury looked at the “he said – she said” nature of the allegations – found both sides had lied or covered up – so they did what jurys are supposed to do – they focused on the absence of forensic evidence that would have pointed the way to the truth. This time – because of the incompetence of the police – there was none

In the words of one juror – who clearly got it right:

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A recent article in the Denver Post finally addresses the most recent attempts by Colorado Schools – hopefully to be followed by the Colorado State legislature – to reverse years of Zero-Tolerance policies in Colorado’s Public Schools and in the Courts.

Last year in December – another excellent article in the Denver Post quoted a Magistrate Kent Spangler, a Fort Collins Judge, who had this to say:

“Kids won’t gain a respect for the law, for their parents, for teachers, for rules in general if they’re told ‘You’re wrong! You messed up!’ and don’t take the time to get at the root of the problem,”

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A new Colorado Law – helps Sex Offenders Understand the Requirements of Sex Offender Registration.

The 2011 bill makes a number of modifications to the requirements for registering as a sex offender, including the following:

• county sheriffs are required to submit registration information for individuals who are required to register as sex offenders and are held for more than five days or are sentenced to a term of imprisonment in a county jail;

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In a recent press release on the 1st Judicial District Website in Colorado – Scott Storey – the elected DA – approaches the increasing problem of Sexting with a reasoned eye – recognizing that which most experts in the field understand – it is a matter of “growing up” and “coming of age” .. that leads to an understanding of the proper boundaries between the genders. It is not a sex offender crime in most cases.

In the following reprinted web page – DA Storey explains his reasoning.

He is to be commended for his common sense and not knee jerk response – as is often the case in this area.

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By H. Michael Steinberg Colorado Criminal Defense Lawyer

The Colorado Deferred Judgement and Sentence

A deferred judgment and sentence is almost always offered to a first offender – a person who has no criminal history.  It provides for that person, after a period of probation, to withdraw his or her plea of guilty and to seal – (clear) their criminal history after the successful completion of the deferred.

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The Seventh Circuit has admonished the United States Attorney’s office for failing to investigate the truthfullness of a “cooperating witness” in the face of obvious false testimony.

In the appellate decison of United States v. Freeman, 09-cr-4043, 2011 WL 2417091 (7th Cir., June 17, 2011), the Seventh Circuit granted a new trial on the grounds that the Federal prosecutors presented testimony of a key cooperating witness on the stand who they knew or at least should have known was lying.

The criminal defense lawyer was on target when he sent the prosecutors a letter detailing his concerns after reading the grand jur testimony challenging key aspects of the cooperating witnesses participation in the actual conspiracy charged in the case.

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By Denver, Colorado Criminal Defense Lawyer – H. Michael Steinberg

Probable Cause

Probable cause is the standard of proof necessary to support a search an arrest warrant and is the quantum of proof that is necessary to support a warrantless arrest.

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