Boulder Legal Issues Blog

The trend is alarming. While other types of traffic fatalities have been declining, pedestrian deaths grew by 27 percent between 2007 and 2016. Of pedestrians killed in traffic crashes since 2016, a third were over the legal driving limit for alcohol, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). How many? Nearly 2,000...

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), nearly 6,000 pedestrians died in traffic accidents last year. It was the second year in a row with a death toll that high. Even more tragically, that represents a 25-year high, with pedestrian fatalities growing by 27 percent between 2007 and 2016. What factors contribute to...

Whether police pull over a driver for a broken tail light or running through a stop sign, sometimes the encounter does not end with the original problem. In some cases, a seemingly minor traffic stop may instead end in the driver’s arrest. For the situation to involve an arrest, police first need a reason...

You hear a lot about drunk driving, but did you know that drowsy driving can be just as dangerous? In fact, the erratic driving behaviors between a drunk driver and an overly tired driver often look very similar. The problem is that being overly tired is a rather common occurrence for American drivers. People...

You’ve been with your partner for years. You own a home together. Your names are both on the credit cards and family bills. Even before 2014, when you could legally get married in Colorado, you were planning on spending the rest of your lives together. But now, things have changed. The relationship just isn’t...

The prosecutor may be the most powerful figure in the criminal justice system. They have power over everything from what charges will be filed to what the sentence will be after a conviction. They have influence over whether defendants get bail or have to remain locked up until they can be tried — or...

An interesting question came before the U.S. Supreme Court recently. In Stuart v. Alabama, a woman was charged with DUI and criminally negligent homicide for rear-ending another driver’s car, causing it to strike a tree and kill the driver. Prosecutors submitted a lab report to prove the woman was under the influence of alcohol,...

After an arrest, criminal defendants in the vast majority of cases have a right to bail. Bail affords you the opportunity to pay money to get out of jail while you await trial. If you show up for court and comply with all of the other conditions of your bond, the money you posted...

Colorado’s express consent law provides that drivers, by virtue of driving on state roadways, have already consented to take a breath or blood test when an officer has probable cause to believe the person is impaired by alcohol or drugs. Refusal to take the test results in a revocation of the driver’s license. Moreover,...

In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has said that the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “excessive fines” applies to states and local governments as well as to the federal government. The high court had never actually ruled that the clause applied to states and local governments, although many people assumed that it did....