Denver Criminal Attorney
Patrick J. Mulligan, Attorney at Law
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1900 Grant Street Denver, Colorado 80203 USA |
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(303) 860-8100
www.patrickmulliganlaw.com
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Law Firm Overview
Patrick J. Mulligan is a Denver criminal attorney offering legal representation for clients involved in criminal law cases for murder, DUI, sexual assault, domestic violence, mental health cases, assault cases, trials and appeals in Colorado.
Practice Areas
Additional Practice Areas: Post-Conviction (Rule 35c) Litigation; Mental Health Cases; Sexual Assault.
Practice Areas Description
The following are the types of criminal law cases the firm handles:- Trials
The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees in criminal prosecution that the accused has the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury in the state and district where the crime was committed, the right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, the right to be confronted with witnesses against him, the right to obtain witnesses in his favor, and the right of counsel for his defense.
At the law office of Patrick Mulligan, Attorney at Law, we have been very successful in acquiring case dismissals during preliminary trial stages, as well as during later stages of the trial process.
- Appeals
In a criminal case, the defense usually has the right to an appeal. Beginning with the lower level of court in the judicial system, appeals are then made to the next higher court above it in the judicial system:
• Municipal/County Court appeals go to District Court
• Appeals from District Court go to the Court of Appeals
• Appeals from the Court of Appeals go to the Colorado Supreme Court
• Appeals from the Colorado Supreme Court go to the U.S. Supreme Court
- Post-Conviction (Rule 35c) Litigation
Post-conviction (Rule 35c) litigation is an additional legal channel sometimes available to people who have been convicted of a crime, after appeal rights have been exhausted. Under federal statutes a person convicted of a federal crime may file a motion to vacate conviction and/or sentence requesting a new trial or sentencing. Post-conviction grounds for these motions include the following reasons:
• Ineffective assistance of counsel
• The conviction or sentence is unconstitutional
- Murder
Homicide is a general term that refers to killing another person. However, not all homicide is murder. Killing in self-defense is not murder, nor is killing the enemy under conditions of war considered murder. Murder is defined by degree and categorized under different classifications. Murder falls under the jurisdiction of state laws, and laws vary from state to state.
Colorado statutes set stiff penalties for first-degree murder, with the minimum sentence of life in prison without parole, and the maximum sentence of the death penalty.
- Mental Health Cases
Colorado statutes define "mental disease or defect" as "severely or abnormal mental conditions that grossly and demonstrably impair a person's perception or understanding of reality and are not attributable to the voluntary ingestion of alcohol or any other psychoactive substance." When a mentally ill person is incapable of distinguishing right from wrong at the time of committing an act, the person is not accountable. However, Colorado law makes it clear that this mental state is not to be confused with mental diseases or defects with "moral obliquity, mental depravity, or passion growing out of anger, revenge, hatred or other motives and kindred evil conditions." When committing an act based on these latter diseases or defects, the person is held accountable under the law. Mental retardation alone is not sufficient to prove mental illness, but neither may it be a reason to exclude mental illness.
- Assault
Similar to other crimes under Colorado law, assault is classified by degree according to the severity of the crime. There are three categories for assault defined by Colorado statutes:
First-degree assault: Physical assault on another person resulting in serious bodily injury under one of these conditions:
• With the intention to cause serious bodily injury through use of a deadly weapon.
• With the intention to disfigure seriously and permanently, or to destroy, amputate or cause permanent disability of an organ or part of another person's body.
• While displaying extreme indifference to human life, knowingly employing conduct that creates a grave risk of life and causes serious bodily injury.
Second-degree assault: Physical assault on another person with the intention to cause bodily injury, or that causes bodily injury under one of these conditions:
• Through use of a deadly weapon.
• Through preventing a police officer or firefighter from performing a lawful duty because of an intention to cause bodily injury to someone.
• Through recklessness by means of a deadly weapon.
• Through intentionally administering to someone without their consent a drug, substance or preparation that could cause them harm that results in causing stupor, unconsciousness or other physical or mental impairment or injury.
Third-degree assault: Physical assault that results in bodily injury under one of these three conditions:
• Committed knowingly and recklessly
• Committed with criminal negligence
• Committed by means of a deadly weapon
- Sexual Assault
Sexual assault is considered a violent and serious crime in Colorado, and as with other crimes, there are varying degrees and classifications for sexual assault. Felony sexual assault not only carries possible penalties of up to life in prison, but also is a very heavily regulated crime that requires registration as a sex offender, possible probation for the rest of life, periodic polygraph testing and other testing, and so on. There are many different categories of sexual assault, including the following:
• Sexual assault
• Unlawful sexual contact
• Sexual assault on a child
• Sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust
• Sexual assault on a client by a psychotherapist
- DUI
DUI stands for "driving under the influence." It is a crime to drive a vehicle in Colorado while under the influence of alcohol or drugs or both. Driving under the influence is determined by blood alcohol content (BAC) with a limit that is set at 0.08. Anyone found to be driving with a BAC at 0.08 or higher may be arrested for driving under the influence.
Attorneys
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Mr. Patrick J. Mulligan
Attorney Assault, Criminal Defense, Homicide |
More Information on Patrick J. Mulligan, Attorney at Law
Denver Criminal AttorneyCriminal Appeal Lawyer in Denver, CO
Denver Post-Conviction Litigation Lawyer
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Denver, CO Mental Health Attorney
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Denver, CO Sexual Assault Lawyer
DUI Law Firm in Denver, Colorado
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