Colorado Springs Legal Issues Blog

For people facing criminal charges in Colorado, the idea that the judge presiding over the case might be biased can be frightening. Judges are simply people, though, and they bring their biases into the courtroom more than those in the legal profession would like to admit. Indeed, research has shown that a person's belief in his or her objectivity might actually increase the likelihood of a biased outcome. A criminal defense lawyer might be able to overcome judicial or institutional bias on behalf of a client and get a fair trial.

Advances in neuroscience have demonstrated that people are more influenced by the subconscious mind than they are aware. The subconscious often steps in and takes over to make people behave in ways that the conscious mind would not agreed with. There has been research performed in courtroom settings as well, and it indicates that judicial bias can impact the outcome of criminal cases.

When Colorado residents imagine community service sentencing, they may think of it as a beneficial program that helps people avoid jail time without paying costly fines that they cannot afford. However, one study indicates that community service can further entrench some of the very problems it is touted to alleviate. Most people who are sentenced to community service have low incomes, and they opt for community service because they cannot pay a fine and do not want to deal with extensive court debt that could spark later legal repercussions.

The report highlights the fact that community service sentencing often means that people must work for weeks at a time on a full-time basis without being paid for their labor. They studied 5,000 cases of people ordered to perform community service between 2013 and 2014. The report noted that 8 million hours of community service work were ordered in Los Angeles County during this time period, covering work that could have been done by 4,900 paid employees. It noted that government agencies received 3 million hours of free labor, the equivalent of work for 1,800 paid jobs. Therefore, community service may not only make the person sentenced less available for paid work, but it can also exacerbate unemployment in surrounding communities.

Police departments in Colorado and around the country are arresting people in record numbers despite plummeting crime rates, according to a recent RAND Corporation study. The violent crime rate in the United States has fallen by almost 50% since 1993, but Americans today are far more likely to be taken into custody by the age of 26 than members of previous generations. Almost one in four Americans born between 1979 and 1988 have at least one arrest on their records. Only 6.4% of those born before 1949 have been taken into custody.

The RAND Corporation study also reveals that young people are often arrested for behavior that many people would not even consider criminal. Almost a third of the women arrested each year and 28% of the men are taken into custody for minor misdemeanor offenses. Arrests for underage drinking are especially common. Alcohol consumption by individuals under 21 accounts for 11% of the women and 16% of the men taken into custody each year.

Whether you love to trick-or-treat with your children or plan to attend a party with your friends, you are likely looking forward to October 31. After all, Halloween can be an unbelievable amount of fun for Coloradoans of any age. Still, if you plan to celebrate with beer, wine or cocktails, you should not drive. 

According to the Denver Post, Colorado officers arrested 375 drunk drivers on Halloween in 2017. While law enforcement agencies around the state have not yet announced their plans to step up DUI patrols on Halloween, there is a good chance state, county and local police officers will have a bigger presence on El Paso County roadways on October 31.