Self-Defense

Right Law Group's guide explains: "Facing assault charges in Colorado can be a daunting experience. The legal complexities and potential penalties involved can be overwhelming."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "When emotions run high in an altercation between spouses or relatives, things can quickly escalate into a domestic violence charge ."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "The state of Colorado takes domestic violence cases very seriously, and even the most minor disputes often result in charges that may leave a lifelong impact on someone."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "It is not unusual for people to get into fights at some point in their lives. Those fights may occur as children on a playground, and the repercussions may be little more than a time-out or grounding."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "In Colorado, various actions fall under the broad category of “assault,” ranging from unwanted physical contact to severe offenses such as first-degree assault, second-degree assault,, and vehicular assault."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "” Your mind races, thinking this must be some mistake. But as officers put you in handcuffs and recite your Miranda rights, reality sets in – you’ve been arrested for attempted murder."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "If you live in Colorado, understanding the state’s “Stand Your Ground” self-defense law could help you make critical decisions to protect yourself or your family."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "Colorado Domestic Violence is a serious charge. If you are in danger or have been falsely accused, it is important to seek legal help immediately."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "Being charged with a felony in Colorado is a serious matter that can have life-altering consequences. Whether you’re facing drug offenses, violent crimes, or white-collar crimes, we will work tirelessly to achieve the best possible outcome for your criminal case."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "Being charged with a misdemeanor in Colorado can have serious consequences, even though these offenses are considered less severe than felonies."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "Domestic violence is a serious crime. It can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions that impact the other partner in a relationship."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "In Colorado, the terms “assault” and “battery” are not interchangeable. In fact, Colorado doesn’t have a specific battery charge."

Right Law Group's guide explains: "If you’re facing allegations of attempted murder in Colorado Springs, every second matters. These vicious charges can steal your future in the blink of an eye without skilled defense attorneys battling for your rights."

Alexis explains: "often we see a male and female relationship where the male will have a bite mark on his arm and he'll say that the female was the initial aggressor and should be charged with domestic violence i cannot tell you how many of my female clients are charged in this way but what i can do is show that defensive wound the bite mark often what that does is proves self-defense because in a domestic violence situation if you for example if the man was actually trying to hurt the the woman by wrapping his arm around her throat one of the best defensive moves that woman can do is to bite down on the arm to get him to release now obviously in that situation she is not the initial aggressor she's defending herself"

Alexis explains: "one of the more common defenses that we see though is the defense of self-defense and self-defense is an especially strong defense in domestic violence cases because it's what we call an affirmative defense an affirmative defense means the district attorney has to prove elements against a defendant so they have to prove every single element beyond a reasonable doubt in order to get a conviction at a jury trial within a an affirmative defense it raises the bar or raises the standard for the district attorney so not only does the district attorney have to prove every single element of the offense but they also have to disprove the act of self-defense"

Alexis explains: "other things that are really helpful when we're forming defense strategies for domestic violence cases is additional evidence so video recordings audio recordings text messages all of those things are very very helpful to us as a defense firm because we can use those to not only have a he said she said situation but to have actual facts showing that our claim of self-defense or general denial is correct"

Right Law Group's guide explains: "Are you in a tough spot right now, facing domestic violence charges that could potentially harm your relationship with your kids?"

Alexis explains: "self-defense is an especially strong defense in domestic violence cases because it's what we call an affirmative defense an affirmative defense means the district attorney has to prove elements against a defendant so they have to prove every single element beyond a reasonable doubt in order to get a conviction at a jury trial within a an affirmative defense it raises the bar or raises the standard for the district attorney so not only does the district attorney have to prove every single element of the offense but they also have to disprove the act of self-defense"

Alexis explains: "sometimes people get charged when they were the person who's actually the victim in the case yeah we've seen that we see it time and time again people think that if you call the police you're going to be safe but unfortunately there are times when someone who's truly a domestic violence abuser can twist the system"

Alexis explains: "that person who called the cops can be arrested and it's awful but in that case we have a very solid self-defense claim yeah um so many things that we see with domestic violence cases are you know if there's someone who's being hurt and they're trying to get out of the situation um women usually have longer nails than men and so they're trying to scratch their way out other more serious injuries don't show up so if someone's being strangled that hurts your neck but you're not going to necessarily see any injuries"

Zoe explains: "The first is going to be self-defense. So, you can argue that you're acting in defense of yourself. However, that requires that there has to be an imminent danger and that the use of force you use has to be reasonable based on that imminent danger."

Alexis explains: "the injury is difficult because law enforcement may not see injuries on her but sees that bite mark but in that case we can use the affirmative self-defense claim now if this were to go to trial in this hypothetical example then the district attorney would have to prove not only that the woman caused the injury to the man but that she also did it and it was not an act of self-defense so self-defense is a very very solid defense strategy if we have the facts available to us to use that approach"

Right Law Group's guide explains: "If you or a loved one have been accused of assault in Colorado, you need a nuanced understanding of the various charges classified under state law in order to mount the strongest legal defense."

Zoe explains: "There's a couple defenses you can use in a domestic violence case. The first is going to be self-defense. So, you can argue that you're acting in defense of yourself. However, that requires that there has to be an imminent danger and that the use of force you use has to be reasonable based on that imminent danger. You can also use defense of others. So, that means that someone else was in imminent danger and you used a reasonable amount of force to defend that other person. And then the last one is choice of evils, which just means that there was a situation or another harm that could have occurred, whether that's another crime or something else, and you acted in this incident as to avoid that other result, which could have been worse than the result that you had caused."