So, you may have made a mistake with legal implications. What happens next? The first thing you should know is that you have rights. You could probably do many things when faced with having to go through the criminal justice system in Colorado.
You should also know that making decisions about the law is not about immediate concerns. It is about consequences, penalties and costs over the long term. The best possible thing you could do in most situations is to take a step back and review your case from this perspective.
Get help
In general, that means you would want to hire a lawyer. It takes years to earn the right to advocate for others under Colorado law — you probably would not have the time to learn to adequately represent yourself. Even if you understood the forms, the procedure and the statutory law, there is still an extensive library of previous cases that probably would influence a judge or jury decision.
Get advice
Lawyers are not here to tell you what to do. In most cases, a good attorney will have two approaches — a tough, tenacious attitude towards your opponent and a compassionate, attentive attitude towards you. You would want someone who listens to you and understands the details of your case, but your representative should also be someone who can stand up for you to protect your rights.
Get perspective
There is probably a best possible situation, but it may not be an offer Colorado officials are willing to make initially. You may need to negotiate based on the material facts of your case and the relationship those facts have to state law. You would also need to know the probable limits the evidence places on your outcome.
Get a lawyer
There is no easy form you could fill out, no single book you could read and probably not even a brief course you could take that could prepare you to secure the best possible outcome in a Colorado criminal defense case. Even if you made a simple mistake, the judge and jury may not see it that way. Hiring a lawyer could go a long way towards making sure you frame your situation in a way the courts would understand.
