|
Retroactive Child Support
A Denver father came to Kurtz & Peckham with a judgment for retroactive child
support for over $60,000. Mother was seeking child support back to the birth of
their sixteen year-old son. As an over-the-road trucker, Dad never received
notice of the hearing for back child support. Dad was paying current child
support, but could not assume the burden of this huge judgment. Mother was
unwilling to negotiate a more reasonable sum.
We filed a Rule 60(b) motion with an extensive brief stating the defenses our
client would have raised if he had a real opportunity for a hearing. The court
set the money judgment aside and granted a new hearing. After hearing Dad's
version of the events, the court was persuaded to reduce our client's back child
support burden to zero.
Juvenile Representation
Our eighteen year-old client was charged in Arapahoe County with the
delinquent act of burglary from a gun shop on the south side of Colfax Avenue.
Adams County charged him as an adult for aggravated robbery of a convenience
store the next day on the north side of Colfax. A conviction for aggravated robbery
carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years imprisonment in the Department Of
Corrections (DOC).
While exploring all the possible legal and constitutional attacks on the
evidence, we began to negotiate a plea bargain that would spare this bright
young man from spending the next ten years of his life in prison. We toured a
facility in Pueblo managed by the Youthful Offender System. We educated the
District Attorney about our client's educational achievements and his learning
disabilities. We investigated the co-participants and showed the District
Attorney how our client followed them down this road. Finally, we presented
enough mitigation for the Judge to find that three years in the Youthful
Offender System was an appropriate sentence.
Back to Top
Driving Under the Influence
Our client was involved in a hit & run in Jefferson County. Hours later he
was stopped for hitting a concrete median in snowy weather at I-70 and I-25 in
Denver County. He refused to take a breath or blood test. We set the Jefferson
County case for trial. This allowed our client time to earn enough money to pay
the victim full restitution. On the date of trial, our client pled guilty to a
moving violation and paid a fine. In Denver, we filed discovery motions and a
motion to suppress the refusal to take a breath test. On the date of motions,
the arresting officer confessed to the District Attorney that he could not
remember a thing about the circumstances of the stop. By exploiting that
weakness in the state's case, our client was offered a DWAI plea and in-home
detention on a fourth lifetime alcohol-related offense (prior offenses had
occurred more than twelve years ago). He is now in treatment for his alcohol
problem and continuing to earn a living.
Back to Top
 Uncovering Invalid Breath
Test in a DUI Case
Mr. Peters (not his real name) contacted Kurtz & Peckham after he was charged with DUI and Careless
Driving. Mr. Peters had never been stopped for driving under the influence of
alcohol before in his life. On this occasion, he was traveling home after
dropping off a friend from a social outing in LoDo. He lost his way and decided
to make a U-turn. Unfortunately, he did not adequately check the traffic behind
him. He nearly stuck a police car while changing lanes. The police officer noted
bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech, and an odor of alcohol. Mr. Peters
admitted drinking a couple of beers a while ago. Mr. Peters agreed to perform
roadside maneuvers, but did not complete them to the officer’s satisfaction. He
was arrested and took a breath test, which showed a BAC of 0.099.
Mr. Peters hired Kurtz & Peckham because he wanted to be sure he did everything
he could to avoid a conviction for an alcohol-related offense. In addition, he
stated that he drank on rare occasions and felt he did not drink too much. The
first thing we did was to request an independent test of the breath sample. Sure
enough, the independent lab tested Mr. Peters’ sample with results of 0.078 and
0.081g ethyl alcohol per 210L breath, for an average BAC of 0.080. The result
obtained by the lab was 19% below the result obtained by the police department.
We obtained an affidavit from the lab which stated that the breath test in this
case was not scientifically valid. As a result, the District Attorney offered to
dismiss the DUI charges if Mr. Peters pled guilty to reckless driving.
Back to Top
Defeating a Sister’s Bid for a
Permanent Restraining Order
Our client moved to Colorado to live with extended family members who emigrated
from Africa. Her sister took her in and helped get her a job providing home
healthcare. When the sister reduced her hours to work at the family business,
our client supplanted her and became very well-liked by the employer. Our client
eventually became self-sufficient and moved out of the sister’s home. This
caused jealousy and hurt feelings, as a family feud developed. The sister
accused our client of damaging her property and making threats. She petitioned
the court for a permanent restraining order.
We asserted our client’s right to a full evidentiary hearing in County Court.
Both sides were represented by counsel. We arranged for family members living in
California to testify by telephone on our client’s behalf. Through effective
cross examination, we were able to show the judge the sister’s true motives. He
found that she did not demonstrate a credible threat was made to her safety. The
court denied the restraining order and dismissed the case with prejudice.
Back to Top
Sparing Client from Jail 
Recently Kurtz & Peckham defense
attorney, Thom Cincotta represented a bus driver on a traffic ticket, and
obtained a favorable plea bargain on his behalf. Due to several family
emergencies, both personal and financial, our client was unable to pay his fine
on time. He later contacted our office and Mr. Cincotta arranged to meet him at
Court that same week. Mr. Cincotta explained our client’s previous predicament
to the Judge and facilitated the handling of the fine. Our client was spared
being arrested on a bench warrant, having to bond out of jail, and missing work.
We received a call that same day from the client thanking
the legal assistant, Tonya Powers, who helped him, the partner who returned his
call for extra help, and Mr. Cincotta for going above his agreed-upon
representation to help a client in need.
Kurtz & Peckham takes pride in giving personal attention
and service to all our clients and in adding value to their representation.
Back to Top
|
During the seven (7) months we represented our client, we
worked very closely with him to develop and marshal all the facts and supporting
documents and witnesses to substantiate his point of view. We interviewed all
witnesses for both sides and conducted extensive discovery, depositions and
motions hearings. We also attempted to resolve the matter by an all day
mediation.
officers will often issue
citations to everyone (making what was once a school matter into a criminal matter), rather
than conduct a complete investigation. The charges may include fighting,
disorderly conduct, assault, and unlawful acts on school grounds.