Protecting Your Rights, Freedom, and Future
Being accused of domestic violence is a serious matter with far-reaching consequences. Domestic violence charges carry not only criminal penalties like jail time and fines, but also collateral consequences affecting child custody, gun ownership, immigration status, employment, and your reputation. Even false accusations can destroy relationships, careers, and reputations if not properly defended.
At Neiley & Morris, we provide aggressive, strategic defense against domestic violence charges throughout Western Colorado, including Telluride, Aspen, and Rifle. We understand the complex relationship dynamics often involved in domestic violence cases, the emotionally charged nature of these accusations, and the unique legal challenges they present. Our boutique practice ensures you receive personalized attention from experienced criminal defense attorneys who will thoroughly investigate your case, challenge the allegations against you, and fight to protect your rights and your future.
In Colorado, "domestic violence" is not itself a criminal charge—it's a sentence enhancer that can be added to various underlying criminal offenses when the act is committed against an intimate partner. The domestic violence designation triggers mandatory arrest policies, no-contact orders, special sentencing requirements, and long-term consequences beyond the underlying criminal charge.
Colorado law defines domestic violence as "an act or threatened act of violence upon a person with whom the actor is or has been involved in an intimate relationship." An intimate relationship includes spouses, former spouses, unmarried couples currently or formerly living together, people who have a child in common, and people involved in or formerly involved in a continuing intimate relationship.
The domestic violence designation can be attached to numerous underlying offenses including assault, harassment, menacing, stalking, sexual assault, criminal mischief (property damage), trespass, telephone obstruction, and violation of a protection order. The most common underlying charges in domestic violence cases are third-degree assault and harassment.
Third-Degree Assault - Domestic Violence: Third-degree assault involves knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury to another person. When committed against an intimate partner, it carries the domestic violence designation. Third-degree assault is a class 1 misdemeanor, but with a domestic violence enhancer, it triggers mandatory domestic violence treatment and other special conditions. Bodily injury can be as minor as temporary pain or redness—serious injury is not required.
Harassment - Domestic Violence: Harassment involves striking, shoving, or kicking another person, or making repeated communications in a manner intended to harass or alarm. Harassment is typically a class 3 misdemeanor but becomes more serious with domestic violence allegations. Many domestic violence cases begin as harassment charges when physical contact occurred but no visible injury resulted.
Menacing - Domestic Violence: Menacing involves knowingly placing another person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury by threat or physical action. This can include threatening gestures, displaying weapons, or verbal threats that cause fear. Menacing is typically a class 3 misdemeanor but can be enhanced to a class 5 felony if a deadly weapon is involved.
Criminal Mischief - Domestic Violence: Criminal mischief involves knowingly damaging another person's property. In domestic violence situations, this often involves damaged phones (preventing someone from calling for help), broken doors, damaged vehicles, or destroyed personal property during arguments. While property damage may seem minor, when combined with domestic violence designation it carries serious consequences.
Violation of Protection Order: Violating a restraining order or protection order is itself a crime, ranging from a class 2 misdemeanor for a first offense to a class 5 felony for subsequent violations. Violations can include direct contact, indirect contact through third parties, coming within a specified distance of the protected party, or contacting the protected party through social media or electronic means.
Colorado law requires police to arrest someone when they have probable cause to believe domestic violence has occurred, even if the alleged victim doesn't want the person arrested. This mandatory arrest policy means officers have little discretion—if they believe domestic violence occurred, someone is getting arrested, even in cases involving minor incidents, mutual combat, or questionable allegations.
Upon arrest for domestic violence, the court will issue a mandatory protection order prohibiting you from contacting the alleged victim. This no-contact order typically remains in effect throughout the criminal case and can create significant hardship when you share children, a home, or financial obligations with the alleged victim. Violating the no-contact order is itself a crime and can result in additional charges, even if the alleged victim initiates the contact.
We can petition the court to modify protection orders to allow necessary contact regarding children, shared property, or other legitimate matters. While courts are cautious about modifying no-contact orders, we work to craft modifications that protect the alleged victim while allowing necessary communication and reducing hardship on you and your family.
The penalties for domestic violence offenses depend on the underlying charge and your criminal history. However, domestic violence convictions carry unique consequences beyond standard criminal penalties:
Criminal Penalties: Depending on the underlying charge, penalties can range from fines and probation for misdemeanors to years in prison for felonies. Third-degree assault (the most common domestic violence charge) carries up to 18 months in jail and fines up to $5,000. More serious assault charges can result in years of prison time.
Mandatory Domestic Violence Treatment: All domestic violence convictions require completion of domestic violence treatment through a court-approved program. Treatment typically lasts 36 weeks (9 months) and costs several thousand dollars. You must successfully complete treatment or face probation violations and potential jail time.
Permanent Protection Orders: The alleged victim can obtain a permanent civil protection order, which can last indefinitely and significantly restrict your ability to have contact with them or your shared children.
Loss of Gun Rights: Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor from possessing firearms. This is a lifetime ban—even misdemeanor domestic violence convictions result in permanent loss of gun rights. For many people, particularly those whose livelihood depends on firearms, this consequence alone makes fighting domestic violence charges essential.
Child Custody Implications: Domestic violence convictions have serious implications in child custody proceedings. Colorado law requires courts to consider domestic violence when allocating parental responsibilities, and a domestic violence conviction can result in restrictions on parenting time, supervised visitation requirements, or in extreme cases, loss of parental rights.
Immigration Consequences: For non-citizens, domestic violence convictions can be considered crimes of moral turpitude or crimes of domestic violence under immigration law, potentially resulting in deportation, denial of naturalization, or inability to obtain legal status.
Employment and Professional Licensing: Domestic violence convictions can affect employment, particularly in positions requiring background checks, security clearances, or work with vulnerable populations. Professional licensing boards may impose discipline for domestic violence convictions, affecting attorneys, medical professionals, teachers, and others holding professional licenses.
Every domestic violence case is unique, but successful defense typically involves thorough investigation of the allegations, the relationship context, and any evidence contradicting the alleged victim's claims. We scrutinize every aspect of your case looking for weaknesses, inconsistencies, and grounds for dismissal or acquittal.
Self-Defense: Self-defense is a complete defense to assault and other violent crime charges. If you were protecting yourself from unlawful force, you're not guilty of assault even if you caused injury to the other person. Colorado law allows you to use reasonable force to defend yourself, and you're not required to retreat before using defensive force. We thoroughly investigate the circumstances to determine whether you acted in self-defense and present evidence supporting your right to defend yourself.
False Accusations: Unfortunately, false accusations are not uncommon in domestic violence cases. Motivations for false accusations can include gaining advantage in child custody disputes, retaliating for relationship issues, seeking to have you removed from a shared residence, or manipulating criminal charges to achieve other goals. We investigate the alleged victim's motivations, prior false accusations, inconsistencies in their story, and evidence contradicting their claims.
Lack of Evidence: The prosecution must prove domestic violence beyond a reasonable doubt. In many cases, the only evidence is the alleged victim's statement, with no witnesses, no injuries, no photos, and no other corroboration. We challenge cases lacking sufficient evidence to prove the alleged conduct occurred.
Mutual Combat: Many domestic violence incidents involve mutual physical altercation rather than one party attacking the other. While mutual combat doesn't necessarily provide a complete defense, it can affect charging decisions, negotiations, and jury perceptions. We present evidence showing the alleged victim was an equal or primary aggressor rather than an innocent victim.
Exaggerated Claims: Sometimes minor incidents get exaggerated in police reports or by alleged victims seeking to strengthen their claims. We compare the alleged victim's initial statements to later statements, examine photos that don't match descriptions of injuries, identify exaggerations or embellishments, and present evidence showing the incident was less serious than alleged.
Alternative Explanations for Injuries: Not all injuries result from the accused person's actions. We investigate whether injuries could have resulted from other causes, pre-existed the alleged incident, were self-inflicted, or occurred during mutual combat rather than one-sided aggression.
Building a strong defense requires careful analysis of all evidence and identification of weaknesses in the prosecution's case:
Police Reports and Body Camera Footage: We scrutinize police reports for inconsistencies, improper investigation, or failure to collect exculpatory evidence. Body camera footage often reveals the alleged victim's demeanor, statements, and visible injuries (or lack thereof) immediately after the alleged incident. We compare these contemporaneous observations to later claims and identify inconsistencies.
Witness Testimony: Witnesses can provide crucial evidence about what actually happened, the alleged victim's credibility, relationship dynamics, and motivations for false accusations. We interview witnesses, identify people police failed to interview, and present witness testimony supporting your defense.
Electronic Evidence: Text messages, emails, social media posts, and phone records can provide important evidence about relationship dynamics, threats or provocation by the alleged victim, planning false accusations, or inconsistencies with the alleged victim's claims. We preserve and analyze electronic evidence supporting your defense.
Medical Records: Medical records document injuries, their severity, and whether they're consistent with the alleged victim's description of events. We review medical records to identify inconsistencies or alternative explanations for injuries.
Prior History: Evidence of the alleged victim's prior false accusations, violent behavior, or history of similar allegations against other people can be relevant to credibility and the likelihood of false accusations in your case. We investigate prior incidents and patterns of behavior.
A common misconception is that domestic violence charges will be dropped if the alleged victim doesn't want to prosecute. In reality, charging decisions belong to the prosecutor, not the alleged victim. Prosecutors routinely proceed with domestic violence cases even when the alleged victim wants charges dropped, doesn't appear in court, or recants their allegations.
However, the alleged victim's wishes do matter. If the alleged victim is uncooperative, refuses to testify, recants, or indicates the incident was exaggerated or misunderstood, it makes the prosecution's case more difficult. We work with alleged victims who want charges dropped, help them understand their rights, and communicate their wishes to prosecutors. While we cannot guarantee dismissal when the alleged victim is uncooperative, it significantly strengthens your defense position.
For defendants with no prior domestic violence convictions, some jurisdictions offer deferred judgment or deferred prosecution agreements. These programs typically require you to plead guilty, complete domestic violence treatment, comply with probation conditions, and avoid any new arrests for a specified period (usually 1-2 years). Upon successful completion, the case is dismissed, and you're not convicted.
Deferred judgment offers significant advantages over conviction, including avoiding a permanent domestic violence conviction on your record, avoiding mandatory loss of gun rights, and reducing immigration consequences. However, deferred judgment is not available to everyone, and it still requires completion of treatment and strict compliance with probation conditions.
We evaluate whether deferred judgment is appropriate for your case, negotiate with prosecutors to obtain deferred judgment offers when possible, and advise you on whether accepting a deferred judgment serves your interests or whether fighting the charges offers better outcomes.
Separate from criminal domestic violence charges, alleged victims can seek civil protection orders (restraining orders) providing court-ordered protection and prohibiting contact. Protection orders can be temporary (pending a hearing) or permanent (lasting up to one year or indefinitely in some cases).
Protection orders can prohibit you from contacting the protected party, requiring you to stay a specified distance away, excluding you from your residence, affecting child custody and parenting time, and requiring you to surrender firearms. Violating a protection order is a crime that can result in arrest and criminal charges.
We represent defendants at protection order hearings, challenging the allegations and advocating against entry of protection orders or for limited orders that minimize disruption to your life. We also represent people seeking to modify or dismiss existing protection orders when circumstances have changed.
Domestic violence allegations have significant impact on child custody proceedings. Colorado law requires courts to consider credible evidence of domestic violence when allocating parental responsibilities. A finding of domestic violence can result in restrictions on parenting time, supervised visitation, or allocation of sole decision-making to the other parent.
If you're facing both criminal domestic violence charges and a child custody case, the two proceedings can significantly affect each other. Statements you make in one case can be used in the other. Protection orders entered in criminal cases affect parenting time. Domestic violence convictions create presumptions against joint decision-making in custody cases.
We coordinate defense of criminal charges with protection of your parental rights in family court proceedings. We develop strategies that protect you in both forums and minimize the risk that one case negatively affects the other.
Western Colorado's mountain communities and resort areas present unique considerations in domestic violence cases:
Small Communities: In small communities like Telluride and Aspen, domestic violence arrests can become public knowledge quickly, affecting your reputation and relationships. We work to protect your privacy while mounting an aggressive defense.
Seasonal Population: Many residents are seasonal, creating complications when alleged victims or witnesses leave the area. We work to preserve testimony, conduct depositions, and address issues arising from transient populations.
Shared Property: No-contact orders create significant complications when couples share property, businesses, or are both part of tight-knit mountain communities. We seek modifications to protection orders allowing necessary contact and minimizing disruption to your life and livelihood.
If you're arrested for domestic violence, the actions you take immediately afterward can significantly affect your case:
Do Not Contact the Alleged Victim: You will be subject to a no-contact order. Do not violate it under any circumstances, even if the alleged victim contacts you first. Violations can result in additional charges and strengthen the prosecution's case against you.
Do Not Make Statements to Police: You have the right to remain silent. Exercise it. Do not try to explain what happened, defend yourself, or minimize the incident to police. Anything you say will be used against you. Ask for an attorney and do not make any statements without your attorney present.
Preserve Evidence: Document any injuries you sustained, save text messages, emails, or other communications showing the alleged victim's state of mind or threats they made, and identify witnesses who can testify on your behalf. Provide this information to your attorney.
Do Not Discuss the Case: Do not post about the arrest on social media, do not discuss details with friends or family, and do not discuss the case with anyone except your attorney. Statements you make to others can be used against you.
Contact an Attorney Immediately: Domestic violence cases move quickly, with protection order hearings often scheduled within days of arrest. Early involvement of an experienced attorney gives us time to investigate, gather evidence, and develop a defense strategy before critical hearings occur.
Domestic violence cases are emotionally charged, legally complex, and carry consequences that extend far beyond criminal penalties. At Neiley & Morris, we understand the relationship dynamics, the tendency for exaggeration and false accusations, and the unique legal challenges these cases present. Our boutique practice ensures you receive personalized attention from experienced criminal defense attorneys who will thoroughly investigate the allegations, challenge the evidence, and fight to protect your rights, your freedom, and your future.
We take the time to understand the full context of your relationship, the circumstances surrounding the allegations, and your goals. We develop defense strategies tailored to your specific situation, whether that means negotiating for dismissal or reduced charges, seeking deferred judgment, or aggressively defending your case at trial. Throughout the process, we focus on protecting not just your freedom, but your parental rights, your reputation, and your ability to move forward with your life.
If you're facing domestic violence charges or are subject to a protection order in Western Colorado, contact Neiley & Morris today to schedule a confidential consultation at our Telluride, Aspen, or Rifle office. We'll review your situation, explain your options, and discuss how we can help you fight these allegations and protect your future. Time is critical in domestic violence cases—don't face these charges alone.