H. Michael Steinberg - Colorado Criminal Defense Specialist Mr. Steinberg graduated from the University of Massachusetts in 1978, cum laude (with honors) with a B.A. in Legal Studies/Honors Studies. Thereafter he graduated from the University of Oregon Law School in 1982. and came to the great state of Colorado. His first position as an attorney was to work side by side with one of the great District Court judges of the Denver bench, the Honorable Alvin D. Litchenstein. Judge Litchenstein taught Mr. Steinberg the meaning of hard work to accomplish just results in, and out, of the courtroom. As a career district attorney for over twelve years, Mr. Steinberg has handled several thousand serious felony cases and countless misdemeanor and traffic cases. He has taken dozens of jury trials to verdict and has argued hundreds of contested adversarial hearings while actively engaged in the practice of trial and appellate law in the Denver Area area for the last seventeen years. From 1984 to 1997, Mr. Steinberg was a Senior Trial Deputy District Attorney for the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office - the second largest judicial district in the State of Colorado. Mr. Steinberg prosecuted numerous top level felony cases, including several high profile felony crimes of violence and white collar criminal cases (see below). Mr. Steinberg stays up to date with the ever changing area of criminallaw - for many years he has been an instructor at the Community College of Aurora. Mr. Steinberg also teaches law enforcement officers and cadets at sheriff and police academies along the front range...among them the Colorado Sheriffs Training Institute , and the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Training Academy as well as the retraining of the security forces at Rocky Flats -(which involves the retooling of the armed and unarmed uniformed protective force involved in the physical protection of the DOE/Rocky Flats ETS property site). Among the courses he regularly teaches are Constitutional Law - emphasis on all aspects of search and seizure law, Juvenile Law, Torts and Personal Injury Law, Evidence, Criminal Law and Procedure, Criminology, Use of Force, Courtroom Testimony, the civil liability of police officers and several other courses relating to law enforcement issues. Mr. Steinberg's experience also includes an extensive foundation in appellate work. As a former Special Assistant Attorney General for the State of Colorado, Criminal Enforcement Section, he has pursued several complex appeals in the Colorado Court of Appeals and in the Colorado Supreme Court on behalf of the the State. Several of those cases have made new law in the state. He now brings that appellate experience to bear on behalf of his clients Many of Mr. Steinberg's cases have been published by the Colorado Court of Appeal and the Colorado Supreme Court. When you are being accused of criminal conduct, what you need is a attorney who is just as driven by the desire to defend people as the prosecutor is driven by the need to prosecute. Civil attorneys, to me meaning attorneys who devote less than half of their practice to criminal defense, usually concern themselves with proving a case. They handle cases by presenting proof of some injury caused by the other side. Criminal defense attorneys think in terms of attacking a case, knowing that they must focus on what the other side is trying to prove so that this 'proof' can be picked apart, piece by piece. Criminal defense attorneys appreciate that the opponent must prove a charge against their client "beyond a reasonable doubt," a standard of proof that must be exploited, a standard of proof much higher than civil attorneys apply in their cases. And criminal defense attorneys attack cases with tools never used by civil attorneys. Motions to suppress interviews and statements, to suppress evidence seized from an office, home or computer, or to exclude business records, are examples of such tools. The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments to the United States Constitution are such tools. The complex and ever changing caselaw relating to crimes, criminal procedure and criminal evidence is another such tool, a tool that is not used well by a attorney who doesn't practice in the criminal courts daily. Unless your attorney regularly deals with such criminal law issues, his or her imagination may not be primed to seize upon the subtle nuances of the facts which will permit the fashioning of a winning defense. Contact Me Today 877-533-6276

Sexual Assault Cases

Sexual Assault Cases in Colorado - A Closer Look

First - Here is a Brief Review of How a Felony Criminal Case in Colorado Proceeds in the Colorado Courts:

An arrest is made (an arrest warrant or a summons is issued).

The person is charged.

There is an advisement/bond return hearing (what happened in People v. Bryant on Aug. 6, 2003). This is where the person is advised of what charges, if any, have been filed.

Preliminary hearing (will happen Oct. 9). The District Attorney has to produce enough evidence for the judge to determine probable cause to believe a crime has been committed and probable cause to believe the defendant has committed it. This hearing is for the purpose of determining whether enough evidence exists to proceed to trial. The court merely decides whether there is evidence which could support a conviction. During this hearing, the court does not weigh the credibility or believability of the witnesses and must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution. Hearsay evidence is allowed at such hearings and the defense has a very limited ability to call witnesses. If a determination of probable cause is found, the case will be sent to district court.

An arraignment is where the Defendant enters a plea of guilty or not guilty. If a plea bargain has been reached, it is often entered into at this time and a date for sentencing is set. If not, future court dates are then scheduled which may include motions dates (where legal arguments are made concerning various aspects of the case), subpoena return dates (where documents are given to the court to review), pretrial conferences (where the parties and the court assess whether the case will be proceeding to trial) and to handle any pretrial procedural matters and the trial.

A Motion hearings; this is an evidentiary hearing for the judge to determine various legal and evidentiary issues in a case

A felony jury trial will have 12 people on the jury and maybe an alternate or alternates. The verdict must be unanimous. The Defendant has a right to a speedy trial within 6 months from the date of entry of a not guilty plea (the arraignment). The Defendant may waive that right. The Prosecution has the burden of proving the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Colorado Law regarding sexual assault is found in the Colorado Revised Statutes,
C.R.S. 18-3-402.

C.R.S. 18-3-402 prohibits sexual assault.

The following comes from the Boulder County Bar Association Media Guide:

The statute provides that a person commits sexual assault if the person knowingly inflicts sexual intrusion or penetration on a victim if:

The person causes the victim to submit by means of sufficient consequence reasonably calculated to cause submission against the victim's will or
The person knows that the victim is incapable of appraising what the perpetrator is doing or
The person knows that the victim erroneously believes the person is the victim's spouse or
At the time of the commission of the act the victim is less than 15 and the person is at least 4 years older than the victim and is not the spouse of the victim or
At the time of the commission of the act the victim is at least 15 but less than 17 or
The person has authority over the victim and uses his position of authority to coerce the victim or
he person while purporting to offer some medical service engages in some sort of treatment or examination for some other reason than a bona fide medical purpose.

The statute goes on to provide various levels of punishment. Section e is a class one misdemeanor. Sexual assault is a class three felony if any one or more of the following circumstances exist:

The person causes submission of the victim by the actual application of physical force or
The person causes submission of the victim by threat of imminent death or serious bodily injury or
The person causes submission by threatening retaliation that the victim reasonably believes the person can execute or
The person has substantially impaired the victim's power to understand or control the person's conduct by using drugs or other means or
The victim is physically helpless and the person knows the victim is physically helpless and has not consented or
The sexual assault of the person is physically aided or abetted by one or more other persons or
Bodily injury, or by a deadly weapon or a simulate deadly weapon and uses that to cause the submission of the victim.

Sexual intrusion is defined by any intrusion, however slight, by any object or any part of person's body except the mouth, tongue or penis into the genital or anal opening of another person's body if that sexual intrusion can reasonably be construed as being for the purpose of simple arousal, gratification, or abuse. Sexual penetration means sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, analingus or anal intercourse. Consent means cooperation in the acts or attitudes pursuant to the exercise of free will and with knowledge of the nature of the act. One is a position of trust includes parents, anyone acting in the place of parents and charged with the parent's rights and duties, anyone charged with the health, education and welfare of and supervision of a child.

Charges and the definitions under Colorado law:

Sexual Assault - OVERCOME VICTIM'S WILL Class 3 Felony C.R.S. § 18-3-402(1) and (4)(a)

Legal Definition of Sexual Assault:

"Any actor who knowingly inflicts sexual intrusion or sexual penetration on a victim commits sexual assault if: 1(a) The actor causes submission of the victim by means of sufficient consequence reasonably calculated to cause submission against the victim's will AND 4(a) actor causes submission of the victim through the actual application of physical force."

Can He Be Sentenced to Probation?
Yes.

What Would The Term of Probation Be?
20 Years to Life.

What Type of Probation?
Intensive Sex Offender Probation. See Chart Entitled "Sex Offender Probationary Terms"

If Rigorous Terms of Probation Violated, What is Potential Consequence?
Four years to Life in prison. (4 to Life)

Can He Be Sentenced to Prison?
Yes. (It is possible, but not mandatory).

If Sentenced to Prison, What will the Term Be?
Four to Life in prison (4 to Life)

If Sentenced To and released From Prison, What is Term of Parole?
20 years to Life (20 to Life).

Registration As A Sex Offender?
Yes. For Life.

Lesser Charges

The following are two lesser charges that a jury could return with -- if they decide Mr. Bryant is guilty, but not of a class three felony sexual assault.

Unlawful Sexual Contact Class 4 Felony C.R.S. § 18-3-404(2) and (3)

Legal Definition:
"Any actor who knowingly subjects a victim to any sexual contact commits unlawful sexual contact if . . . the actor knows that the victim does not consent . . ." and . . . "the actor compels the victim to submit by use of force, intimidation or threat . . ."

Can He Go to Prison?
Yes.

Is Prison Mandatory if Convicted?
No.

If sentenced to prison, what is the Term??
Indeterminate term of at least 2 years to the defendant's natural life (2 to Life)

Can He Be Sentenced To Probation?
Yes.

If in Prison, When Can He Be Reviewed For Parole?
Upon serving the minimum term of his sentence.

Sexual Assault Cases

Sexual Assault Cases in Colorado - A Closer Look

First - Here is a Brief Review of How a Felony Criminal Case in Colorado Proceeds in the Colorado Courts:

Colorado Law regarding sexual assault is found in the Colorado Revised Statutes, C.R.S. 18-3-402.

Charges and the definitions under Colorado law:

Lesser Charges

Colorado Law regarding sexual assault is found in the Colorado Revised Statutes,
C.R.S. 18-3-402.