Fort Collins Criminal Defense Attorney

Criminal Defense

• Immediate attention to your case
  
• Experience
  
• Careful follow-up after acquittal or sentencing

Most of us, including most of my clients, do not encourage or want criminal conduct in our community. However, I do strongly believe in and support the rights of persons accused of crime. Those rights are critical for our freedom. And sometimes we as a society over-react in our efforts to solve societal problems, by passing ever more laws. Whether by trial, raising evidentiary legal questions, or seeking the least onerous sentence available, I strive to protect my clients' interests.

If you are under investigation or have been arrested for a crime, you can contact me by phone at (970) 224-9281. I strongly encourage you to talk with an attorney before meeting voluntarily with the police or making any admissions. It may be too late later to ask what your rights are, or what the best course of action is.

As an attorney, I can visit a client in jail without having to wait for public visiting hours, and can help that client get through the uncertainty and fear they may be experiencing. In Larimer County, bond is set on new arrests in court hearings held at 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for holidays. (Some bonds on less serious cases are set at night and over the weekend by pre-trial services "bond commissioners"). So a Friday night arrest can result in an uncomfortably long weekend in jail. The Larimer County Detention Center is pretty good as jails go, but it is still jail.

I have handled most types of criminal charges, representing clients in courts throughout northern Colorado and Denver. I am also experienced in dealing with legal matters relating to firearms. I have dealt with a variety of federal and state authorities including the FBI, DEA, ATF, local police, Dept. of Human Services, U. S. Attorneys, and County District Attorneys. I have seven years experience myself as an assistant District Attorney.

Unlike many attorneys, I also include in my representation the important step of seeing that state criminal/arrest records are updated upon completion of the case. These are not the same as the court records, and frequently are not automatically updated from the court record. These records are now available to the public online for a small fee. Such updating can ensure that future checks by potential employers or police will show the actual outcome of the case when charges have been dropped or significantly reduced, the defendant is found not-guilty, or charges are dismissed after completion of a deferred sentence.

I also can assist you in petitioning to have your Colorado case court and arrest records sealed, when possible under the law. Currently under Colorado law those records (for adult defendants) can generally only be sealed: if the charges never get filed in court; if an entire filed criminal case (all charges or "counts") is dismissed, either by the DA without a trial, or after a finding of not guilty to all counts by a judge or jury; or if you received and successfully completed a deferred sentence on one or more counts, and any other counts in that case had been dismissed when that deferred sentence was imposed. There are special rules that apply to multiple cases that are handled in court at one time, and there are some types of cases that cannot be sealed. Municipal (city) court cases and juvenile court cases also present different issues for sealing. Sealing is not automatic just because a case qualifies to be sealed. The sealing decision is discretionary with the Judge hearing the petition to seal. It is important to present the best case possible in the petition to seal, and that is where an attorney's help can make the difference.

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Kirk Brush
Attorney and Counselor at Law
First National Tower Bldg
215 West Oak Street, Suite 500.
Ft. Collins, Colorado 80521
Telephone: (970) 224-9281
Fax: (970) 224-5700