An insufficient evidence argument asserts that the evidence at trial was insufficient to convict the defendant of one or more charges because the prosecution did not prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, one or more elements of those charges.
Category Archives: Criminal Appeals
When a felon is released from federal prison, it is often for supervised release. This means that he lives at home, but there is a probation officer who monitors him and makes sure he complies with the terms of his release. If he was convicted of robbing a jewelry store, perhaps a term is that […]
The United States Sentencing Guidelines use a point system to determine the sentencing range for federal convictions. These points can aggravate (increase) a sentence or mitigate (decrease) a sentence. Acceptance of responsibility, for instance, results in a several point reduction of the offense level, which means a lower sentencing range for the judge to consider. […]
The first step in a direct appeal is to ask the court of appeals to provide relief for specific legal errors made at the trial level. But sometimes, the trial court made only a series of smaller errors, rather than a severe error that would alone warrant reversal. In these cases, the cumulative error doctrine […]
After a Colorado criminal defendant has exhausted the direct appeal process, he may turn to filing a pro se motion for relief pursuant to Colo. Crim. P. 35(c). Often, this is where he alleges that his trial counsel was ineffective. Upon receipt of a 35(c) motion, the reviewing court must consider whether “the motion and […]
With few exceptions, a legal issue must be preserved in the trial court in order to raise it on appeal. This means that the issue must have been brought to the attention of the trial court and the court must’ve been given the chance to make the correct decision. The most common means of preservation […]
C.R.S. § 18-1-405(1) requires that, if a defendant is not brought to trial within six months of the entry of his not guilty plea, the charges must be dismissed. The statutory language is “mandatory and leaves no room for court discretion.” Carr v. District Court, 543 P.2d 1253, 1254, 190 Colo. 125 (Colo. 1975). This […]
On April 3, 2018, managing attorney K.L. Penix argued before the Colorado Court of Appeals in Denver on behalf of Defendant-Appellant Craig Edward Nelson in The People of the State of Colorado v. Craig Edward Nelson. The primary issue in the case was whether the People shifted the burden of proof to Nelson by cross-examining […]
In any jurisdiction, an appeal is a legal proceeding through which a party that received an adverse decision seeks review of that decision in a higher court. An appeal is not an opportunity to re-litigate a case or present new evidence, but rather to point out an error that occurred in the trial court. The […]
The Colorado Supreme Court is made up of seven justices who serve ten-year terms. The current seven justices are Chief Justice Nancy E. Rice, and Justices Nathan B. Coats, Allison H. Eid, Monica M. Márquez, Brian D. Boatright, William W Hood, III, and Richard L. Gabriel. To become a justice, an attorney must be recommended […]