Denver, CO Criminal Defense Law Blog

Several weeks ago, campus police at Colorado State University responded to a "situation" that resulted in two charges of domestic violence and assault: one against a school football player and one against his girlfriend. The player was also charged with harassment.

Both charges are misdemeanors. It is unclear what started the altercation but it may seem unusual for both partners in a romantic relationship to face domestic violence charges at the same time.

No matter what their academic ability, most Colorado residents can remember getting anxious over a test or an assignment, fearing what the resulting grade would do for their GPA, their college prospects or their parents' approval. Chances are good that they never worried whether it would affect their criminal record.

But a 16-year-old girl's failed science project has earned her two felony charges of making a destructive device and an expulsion from school. The student, who even the school principal said has an "exemplary" record, has come to her defense, saying she was not attempting to make a weapon or cause harm to anyone. But the investigation into the project, which resulted in an explosion on school grounds, is continuing and she could face serious criminal punishment, if convicted.

We've written in the past about some new gun laws going into effect in Colorado, as well as some controversy over their enforcement. After a series of violent mass shootings in the past year or so, Colorado passed several laws tightening its forearm regulations last month. In an unfortunate - and unexpected - coincidence, the head of Colorado's prison system was shot dead at his home hours before those new laws were passed.

The gun in that shooting is of special interest to law enforcement officials because the suspect in the shooting is a convicted felon who should not have had access to a firearm. A woman is facing charges for the weapons crime of "straw purchasing," or buying a gun to give to another person.

Many users of marijuana in Colorado still have questions about its legality in the light of a clash between state and federal law. Despite the fact that Amendment 64 was approved about five months ago by the state's voters, marijuana use is still illegal on a federal level. And the federal Attorney General has not been clear about the federal government's stance on marijuana use in states where it is legal. They face significant pressure from both sides.

On one side of the aisle are people who agree with the voting public of Colorado: that the costs of enforcing draconian marijuana laws outweigh the benefits of locking up offenders. Nationwide, attitudes about marijuana use are changing and the substance is slowly but surely becoming more socially acceptable, particularly of the failings of the War on Drugs come to light.