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- Do I have to let the police or anyone else search my
house or car?
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- No. In most situations the police need either your
consent or a search warrant to enter your house. Most police
officers will ask your permission to search because it saves
them a great deal of hassle in getting a search warrant. The
sufficiency of any search warrant can later be tested to see
if it was properly attained by the police involved. However,
if you consent, any defects in procedure or evidence will
probably not help your situation and the search will
probably be allowed.
Motor vehicles are a slightly different matter. Usually the
police will be able to search your car if you are being
arrested. However, this usually does not include stops for
speeding or other minor traffic contacts. If you are stopped
or contacted by the police in your vehicle you always have
the right to say no you cannot search my car. If the police
have the legal right to search it they will do so anyway. If
they were wrong anything they found cannot be used in court.
Unfortunately, if you consent to the search the items found
can likely be used against you even if they had no legal
right to search your vehicle.
Without your consent, private investigators/detectives
cannot search your car or home.
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- Can the police lie to me when questioning me about a
case?
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- It is Frightening that the answer is YES. The police
are allowed to tell you an outright lie in attempts to get
you to incriminate yourself. One of the most common lies is
to say they have witnesses or other evidence when they do
not or to tell someone that their accomplices have already
confessed so they should as well.
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- The alleged victim in my crime called me and asked me to
apologize. Are the police behind this?
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- Probably. The police frequently use what is called
pretext phone calls to try to get a confession over the
phone. This usually occurs in alleged sexual assaults and
consists of the alleged victim calling the alleged
perpetrator and asking them to apologize or explain why they
did something. Most of these phone calls are recorded and
forwarded to the district attorney.
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- The police are offering me a deal to give them evidence
on others involved in my crime. Can I trust them?
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- Depends on the cop. Many police officers are men and
women of their word, but some are not. The best policy is to
have an attorney negotiate with the police and the district
attorney and get the agreement in writing. Many people wind
up getting strung along as the police keep asking for just
one more piece of information or wear a wire just one more
time and it never seems to reach a conclusion. An agreement
should include exactly what benefit(s) you are to receive,
what they are expecting, who is it they are trying to arrest
and how long or how many times must you assist. Further,
many times the police exaggerate the trouble you are in or
the evidence they really have and those things should be
explored before putting yourself at risk as an informer.
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- The district attorney has offered to let me plead guilty
with no jail on my first offense. Is this a good deal?
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- Not necessarily. It really depends upon the level of
violation and the charge itself. Most people who get
misdemeanor charges do not go to jail on their first
offense. This is because in most cases the district attorney
could not get the judges to give jail sentences to first
time offenders even if they requested them. As an example, a
class one misdemeanor such as 3rd degree assault is
punishable by 6 months to 24 months in jail. However, the
judges may and usually do suspend all or some of that jail
time. It is best to have one of our attorneys look at your
case to determine what a reasonable offer from the district
attorney might be.
Individuals who are charged with felonies are looking at
penalties ranging from 1 year in prison to spending the rest
of their life in prison. Again, in many cases it is possible
and sometimes likely that the judge will forego any prison
time in favor of a probation sentence. Further, many felony
cases can be reduced to misdemeanors or you may receive a
deferred sentence (an agreement to stay out of trouble and
comply with other specified conditions in return for a
dismissal of the case once the term and conditions have been
completed). Additionally, the law and facts sometimes
warrant that a case be totally dismissed.
Many a person has accepted an unfair disposition simply
because they were promised that they would not get jail
time. A number of these people probably had little or no
risk of actually serving a jail sentence even if they went
to trial and lost. Each case is different and you should
have one of our attorneys review your case situation prior
to accepting any disposition to your case. Some criminal
charges such as Driving Under Restraint or Suspension,
Sexual Assaults, and Statutory Crimes of Violence have
mandatory jail or prison sentences. Information is power and
to make an informed decision in your case you should consult
one of our attorneys for a free initial consultation.
It is always best to contact an attorney as soon as you are
charged with any criminal conduct. There are time limits and
rules that must be followed to make sure that every
opportunity to challenge and investigate the case against
you is undertaken.
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- My spouse has been charged with a crime. Can I bond
him/her out of jail?
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- Probably. Most people charged with a crime in
Colorado are entitled to have a reasonable bond set in their
case. Felony cases usually have bonds ranging from $750 to
$50,000. However, in very serious cases such as murder the
bonds can be even higher. Misdemeanor cases usually have
bonds ranging from $100 to $1,500.
To bond someone out of jail you must give the courts the
amount of money equal to the bond. This money then serves as
a guarantee that all court appearances will be made. Once
the case is complete the money will be returned to the
person who posted the bond. In serious cases it may be
impossible for you to post the entire bond amount.
If you are unable to post a cash bond in the amount needed
you can consult a professional bail bondsman. These
companies will charge you a premium of usually 10-15 % to
bond a person out of jail. This money is their fee and you
will not receive any of that money back once the case is
complete. Depending on the amount of the bond and the nature
of the case the bondsman might ask for some form of
collateral on the bond (often times it is a lien on your
house or other property).
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