Being in custody does not necessarily mean that an individual is in handcuffs or at a police station. Whether a person is in custody for purposes of Miranda is determined by whether a person has been deprived of their freedom in a significant way. If law enforcement officers have not complied with their obligations under Miranda, a defendant may bring a motion to suppress the statements. Even if a defendant has not been provided their Miranda rights, any statement made by a defendant may not be introduced into evidence at trial unless the statement was made voluntarily. In other words, a coerced confession may not be used against a defendant. It is the prosecution’s burden to demonstrate that an individual knowingly and intelligently waived their privilege against self-incrimination.

A motion to suppress can be brought on the basis that either the waiver of Miranda rights was not voluntary, or that it was not knowing and intelligent.

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 To discuss your case with me, lawyer Andres Guevara, call 888-265-0044 or fill out the contact form below. My law office is in Denver.

www.guevaracoloradolaw.com

 Carol Chambers has overstepped again — this time by illegally funding her prosecution of a high-profile murder case, a judge has ruled.

“A district attorney’s obligation is greater than obtaining convictions,” reads an order Tuesday by District Judge Stanley Brinkley.

“A conviction, if it is to be obtained, must be accomplished by obedience to the law. Otherwise, the prosecution is no different than those the prosecutor is required to prosecute.”

Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_14282987#ixzz0euDWY0tQ

The court found that Carol Cambers and the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office broke state law by creating a new funding source and sidestepping counties’ budget approval.

Visit my website:   Denver Criminal Attorney

In 2008, David Bueno was tried for the 2004 murder of another prisoner in the Limon Correctional Facility and convicted of murder.  Although Bueno was already serving a life sentence, Carol Chambers sought the death penalty.  The case involved the stabbing death of Jeffrey Heird, a white supremacist who had been labeled as a rat for refusing to warn fellow white inmates about a drug bust in prison.   The defenses theory was that the victim was a renegade white supremacist who was killed by other white gang members who then blamed the mruder on three Hispanic inmates, including Bueno.

It  has now come to light that the 18th Judicial District prosecutors withheld  documents consistent with the defense theory.  This new information has only come to light because the judge presiding over Bueno’s co-defendant’s case, has called the D.A. to task.  For example, prosecutors failed to disclose in the Bueno case that:

 [M]inutes after finding Heird’s body, a prison nurse found a letter written by the Aryan Nation threatening to “exterminate” white inmates who “refuse to accept their proud race”  . . . [and]  two days after Heird’s death, another white inmate was found in the same living unit with blunt chest trauma. David Hollenbeck died three days later. He was named in the Aryan Nation letter as a specific target.

This is just the tip of the iceberg as defense attorneys begin to pour over the newly disclosed evidence.  As noted by the Denver Post:

Chambers’ office had turned over 31,006 pages of evidence when Bueno’s capital murder trial began in 2008. As of this week, 65,429 pages have been disclosed. That means more evidence has come forward in the 17 months since Bueno’s conviction than before he was tried — and only, in large part, because the judge presiding over [the co-defendant's] case ordered it.

Sentencing is set for November 10

Source:  http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13438175

Now, it has only been a week into the investigation and questions are already being raised about the conduct of Mr. Zazi’s attorney.  While it may be poor form  to criticize the conduct of another attorney, especially when I don’t have access to all the information about what has occurred, many questions have been raised about the attorney’s ability to handle such a complicated case.  See, for example, Mike Littwin’s piece in the Denver Post:  http://www.denverpost.com/littwin/ci_13398393?.  

The cautionary point for you is that if you have been arrested, you need to be extra careful to make sure that your attorney actually handles (and has extensive experience) defending individuals charged with similar crimes.   Certain criminal charges require specific and unique expertise.  There is far too much at risk for you to take a chance with someone who lacks experience.  The great news is that Colorado has numerous highly qualified criminal attorneys and you should consider shopping around for the best fit for you and your case.

So far, much of the information received by the public on this case has been through anonymous leaks, so we should approach with caution and avoid any speculation.  Although he has been arrested, the FBI has not provided information as to the basis for believing that Mr. Zazi has committed crimes. 

Source:  http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13376280

Update September 15, 2009

Najibullah Zazi is a 24 year old airport shuttle driver who lives in Aurora, Colorado with his parents and expressed surprise that he was in the center of a huge hullabaloo over a suspected tie between him and terrorists in New York. 

But Zazi, who spoke at length to The Denver Post Tuesday from the doorway of his southeast Aurora apartment, said he is not connected to al Qaeda and said he has not been contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He said he was bewildered why he would be swept up in the investigation.

 ”There is no way I can have any connection to this terrorism,” he said.  “I live here, I work here. Why would I have an issue with America? This is the only country that gives you freedom — freedom of religion, freedom of choice. You don’t get that elsewhere. Nobody wants to leave America. People die to come here.”

Source:  http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13340582

If you are being wrongly accused of a crime, you can call The Law Office of Andres R. Guevara for a free consultation at (720) 379-8262.

“It’s very unusual, if not unprecedented, for charges to be brought in this situation,” said 9NEWS legal analyst Scott Robinson in 2008. “Cisneros has a right to defend that home from an illegal intruder, but the question is: did he create a situation where that was more likely to take place because of his illegal enterprise?”

However, police investigators never bothered to determined whose gun was responsible for the bullet that killed Auralia.  And today in closing arguments, Mr. Cisneros’ attorney, Laura Menninger accused Denver Police of planting a bag of marijauan on Auralia in order to strengthen their case. 

Police have testified that Auralia had a baggie of marijuana that she was clutching in her hands, inside her pants pocket at the time of her death.

Menninger told the jury that Auralia’s mother, a Denver police officer who was one of the first on the scene, and a neighbor who helped give Auralia CPR, all testified that Auralia’s hands were across her chest when she died and were not in her pocket.

By the time the coroner got on the scene, he testified that he pulled Auralia’s hand out of her pocket and found the baggie.   http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13316412

Update September 15, 2009

         Jurors did the right thing and returned a verdict of Not Guilty on the charge of reckless child abuse resulting in the death of his 10-year-old daughter.

During the trial, much of the prosecution’s case has been built on speculation as to what method Mr. Thompson may have used to dispose of Aarone’s body coupled with an apparant history of physical abuse by Mr. Thompson towards his other children. To that end, the state’s case has included testimony by other witnesses (including the other Thompson kids) about acts of physical abuse towards the children.

The trial of Aaron Thompson has been ongoing in Arapahoe County District Court for nearly two months with five weeks of testimony by prosecution witness. On September 9, 2009, the defense rested its case.

Today, one day after the defense had rested and with the case ready to be sent to the jury, prosecutors dropped a bombshell in the form of 100 pages of evidence which had never before turned over to the defense. The documents contained absolutely new information that police investigators had on August 10 (while the trial was still ongoing!) discovered a vehicle, presumably owned by Mr. Thompson, at his residence. The prosecution has not stated how it the police, over the past several years in which they have been handling the case, did not locate a motor vehicle at Mr. Thompson’s residence. How do you miss something that big?

Now, the case is in turmoil as the defense team will likely push for a mistrial and either or both sides of the case will push for testing and an examination of the contents of the motor vehicle for any physical evidence. Conceivably, evidence in the vehicle could exonerate Mr. Thompson.

Unfortunately, people sometimes assume that the police and prosecutors will always act dilligently to turn over documents and evidence in the case to satisfy their requirements under the Colorado and U.S. Constitutions. The reality can be far from the ideal and raises a bigger issue:

If such an abuse of process could happen in a high profile case, such as the Aarone Thompson matter, involving hundreds of witnesses, massive resources spent by the county and state, years of work by investigators and experts, and a large staff of prosecuters compiling, organizing and presenting this evidence . . . .what could happen your case?

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 11, 2009

Prosecutors in court admitted that they knew about the vehicle, went ahead and tested it, found nothing and didn’t bother informing the Defense or providing them information until nearly the end of trial. The Defense has not asked for a mistrial at this time but reserves the right to request it at a later date. In the meantime, the court has permitted the Defense to re-open its case.