Colorado Recent Legal Answers from Lawyers

If the ticket has an 'automatic points reduction' (usually listed on the back of the ticket) that is usually the best you can do as far as plea bargaining (a points reduction if paid within a short period of time). I don't read the way you described the siutation as you not being guilty of 'Failing to Stop at a Stop Sign" - in fact you pretty much admit that is what occured but that the reason was because the road was icy. I do not beleive that will work as a defense, so I would not count on getting the charge dismissed - only a reduction in points. If the reduction is NOT on the back of the ticket, you should contact the court where you'd have to go to court and ask if they have a plea bargain process for a reduction in points upon payment of the fine. ... Read More

The paralegal who drafted the will was practicing law without a license.  But suing her after your mother is gone won't help you.  You are absolutely correct that the Will should provide that anything which is to go to a disabled person should instead go to a special needs trust for their benefit.  The attorneys who have advised you to "get your mother to see an estate attorney to fix it" are also right:  the only person who can change her Will is your mother.... Read More

This is rather interesting.  First, an alias summons means that your former landlord tried to serve but was unsuccessful.  A new summons had to be issued since the first summons was not successfully served. What makes this interesting, is that you said you went to court and they entered jugdement against you.  It appears you may not have been properly served with the first summons and the judgement could have been vacated.  You need to pull up your court docket, on-line, to see if the judgement was vacated.  If so, they are starting from scratch.   The next question, if your case has been vacated, are you past the statute of limitations?  You will need to do a little research in order to make a sound decision as how to proceed.      ... Read More

The answer to this question likely depends on what court the case is in and what the charge is.  You placed this under the "Traffic Violation" heading so I assume it is a relatively minor traffic ticket. If you look at the back of the ticket it might have a procedure to plead guilty to a less serious offense with fewer points by mailing in a signed 'guilty' plea and a check. Or you can contact the court clerk and ask if there is a process for doing that.  Many courts are now being held via video and so if it is necessary to appear in court you likely can do it from wherever you live - again the court clerk could point you to how to do that.  But to directly answer your question, in most circumstances an attorney can take care of a traffic ticket for you without you needing to travel here.... Read More

It is not necessary to create a trust to pay someone's medical bills.  Grandmother can pay them directly while she is alive with no tax consequences to her.  If she likes, she can create a trust (either stand-alone or in her Will) which will pay the bills.  She should note that the income tax brackets for trusts and estates are compressed, meaning that it need earn less money than an individual to be taxed at a high income tax rate.  This is a good reason to have the trust be funded only when, due to fraility, disability or death, she is unable to make payments directly.... Read More

The answer depends on the contract that you entered into when you purchased the ticket. That contract will govern the terms of a refund or chage of date request. A careful review of the relevant contract is required to answer your question. You may want a lawyer to review the contract because sometimes the contract seems logical but there can be many overlapping issues to consider depending on how the contract is worded. You can look for the contract on the company's website if you did not sign anything when purchasing the ticket. Many times the contract will be in the form of "terms and conditions" or "policies" governing your use of the ticket.  Sometimes this language is even printed on the ticket iteslf.  If the contract for the ticket or the ticket itself states that you must give 48 hours prior notice to change the date or get a refund then the company you contracted with should honor that contract.  Be careful though as there can be many conflicting provisions in such a contract even if it seems straightforward.  Even if you determine you have a right to a refund or to change the date of the ticket, you may then need to enforce your rights in court (small claims or district court) in order to force the company you bought the ticket from to comply with the contract. There is no other way to force the corporation to act or to settle such a dispute with them without their agreement.   Right now, it is very difficult to say if this is illegal or not without a careful and detailed review of the relevant contract terms and conditions and the particular facts of your case.  If you want to send it to me I can review it for you and give you a more definite answer. Good luck!   ... Read More

Generally, you are not required to sign or purchase any warranty when purchasing a used car. Warranty companies are independent and are separate businesses from the dealership selling you the car.  The warranty will have specific terms and conditions that you must adhere to in order to receive the warranty coverage. If you have purchased a warranty, the detailed terms and conditions of that particular warranty will govern whether or not you have warranty coverage for the vehicle.  If you or someone else altered the vehicle after the warranty was purchased, or if the warranty was purchased and the warranty company did not know about the non-conforming 'lift' when the warranty was purchased, the warranty company might still honor the warranty this time to avoid a legal problem with you, but it is likely that the warranty you signed and purchased is invalid and would not be applicable to any future warranty claims or warranty issues for this car. This may be why the warranty company wants you to sign a new warranty contract - in order to to make sure that the warranty you purchased matches the vehicle you have and the warranty will cover you going forward.  Eithe way, it is crucial to read both warranties very carefully, in extreme detail, to determine the differences in the two warranties.  A lawyer can help you with this review and analysis.  It may be that the warranty company agreed to fix the car this one time due to the short two week time period from purchase and the mistake in selling the warranty to you when the car had  a "lift", but the warranty company is likely not required to honor the warranty again in the future. The new warranty they are asking you to sign may be what you need to ensure full warranty coverage in the future with the 'lift' remaining in/on the car.  However, without talking to the warranty company, reviewing both warranties in detail, or talking with you, it is difficult for me to say for sure. Generally, though, they want to make sure the car is and remains conforming to the warranty they sold to you. A detailed comparison of the two warranties is essential, but you are never required to sign anything if you dont want to. The qusetion is whether you have coverage in the future if you dont sign the new warranty.  ... Read More

Insuarnce policies normally note the date and time the insurance began. If you bought the insurance after the accident occured, it likely will not cover the accident damages if you were at fault.  Look at the policy or ask your agent when (what time of day) the coverage began.  IF you did not have insurance, then you likely will get a letter from DMV that will say your license will be suspended unless you provide proof you have insurance by a given day (normally 10 days or so after you get the letter - and the letter comes by US mail so watch your US mailbox for it). But providing the proof PRIOR to the 'effective date' of the suspension listed in the letter will result in NO supension. It is possible, if your insurance was not in place at the time of the accident, that your friends insurance was still vlaid and as a 'permissive driver' you should be covered.   In court, if you did not have insurance at the time of the accident but do have it by the court date, many prosecutors will still want a guilty plea to no proof of insuance charge, but the fine will be less because you now have insurance.... Read More

There is an interstate compact that allows Colorado to revoke your Colorado license just as they would if the conviction for DUI was here.  Generally, if your ability to drive is revoked in Nebraska, Colorado law would not allow you to drive here using your Colorado license until you are reinstated to be able to drive in Nebraska. It is worth having your specific circumstances analyzed by a Colorado attorney familiar with the DMV rules here, or at a minimum contacting the DMV to ask them when you can drive in Coloraddo once your Nebraska case is resolved. ... Read More

If you have completed the alcohol program and the only issue for trying to revoke your deferred sentence is that you did not complete the alcohol program - provide proof to the Court that you completed the program and that should take care of it with no further action needed.  If you can, take the proof to the court clerk prior to the hearing and have the clerk 'efile' it into the file and ask that the hearing be vacated. It might be you can avoid having the hearing at all.... Read More

Most Colorado courts are now doing court appearances by video - so it seems to me you can 'appear' from your home where ever it is. Certainly if you hire a lawyer they should be able to take care of it. Was the ticket not issued as a 'penalty assessment' where you can just pay it within 20 days and get reduced points?  Did you fail to appear at the intial court date so there is a 'failure to appear' warrant?   I'd be willing to talk to you about this and see if I can talk you through getting it done without coming to Colorado. Possibly if you just contact the court clerk you can work it out that way.... Read More

Identity Theft has a possible penalty of up to 6 years in prison and or a $500,000 fine.  Theft under $5,000 carries a possible prison sentence of up to 18 months and/ or a $100,000 fine.  Forgery carries a possible penalty of up to 3 years in prison and / or a fine of up to $100,000. There may be other potential charges.  Of course, whether a prison sentence is actually imposed depends on many factors, such as a persons' criminal history, the facts of the case, the situation of the alleged victim, etc. ... Read More

You have identified a  potential defense to try, but the law does not necessarily require law enforcement to try to track you down. It is not uncommon for an arrest warrant to sit, awaiting the person to be contacted by the police for some reason.  However, 8 years is a long time. Certainly you are right that statutory speedy trial will not help you but constitutional speedy trial may be a grounds to peruse. It is likely it would be necessary to show 'prejudice' (witnesses no longer available, etc.).  Also, there is an argument,ent that 'speedy prosecution' violation could be argued.  I once had a case where the defendant was in a halfway house and the prosecution waited until he was almost down with his other sentence before arresting him.  It was a case where witnesses had moved on and could not be found etc. The judge eventually did dismiss the case. Such results are rare but could be tried. That said, it is unlikely that could be done without you being physically present by turning yourself in on the warrant to get the case moving.  During COVID times, however, many hearings are being done via video and possibly that could be used to make the process less onerous.  What county is the warrant in? What is the charge the arrest warrant alleges?  BOTH of those issues can make a big difference in how the case gets handled.... Read More

The 'victim' never presses charges.  The state does.  The 'victim' will be subpoened by the prosecution and if he fails to appear at trial HE will be prosecuted for contempt of court (ignoring the subpoena).  It would be unusual to go to jail on a first offense but it depends a lot on the facts and the county it is in etc.  Since you qualify for the public defender, my advise is to LISTEN to your public defender......... Read More

It would seem you are charged in Fort Collin MUNICIPAL court and not State Court. You looked at the STATE statute on Careless Driving and found that penalty ($300 and 90 days in jail max). The MUNICIPAL code calls for the penalties of up to $3000 and up to 180 days in jail. It is extremely unlikely that anything close to the maximum fine is imposed and even less likely for jail to be imposed.... Read More