Bribery in Colorado
The attorneys at The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm are experienced attorneys in Colorado who defend people charged with bribery.
Bribery
Bribery is defined in Colorado’s bribery statute C.R.S. Section 18-8-302. The Colorado bribery statute defines bribery as follows:
C.R.S. Section 18-8-302, Colorado’s Bribery Statute
(1) A person commits the crime of bribery, if:
(a) He offers, confers, or agrees to confer any pecuniary benefit upon a public servant with the intent to influence the public servant’s vote, opinion, judgment, exercise of discretion, or other action in his official capacity; or
(b) While a public servant, he solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any pecuniary benefit upon an agreement or understanding that his vote, opinion, judgment, exercise of discretion, or other action as a public servant will thereby be influenced.
(2) It is no defense to a prosecution under this section that the person sought to be influenced was not qualified to act in the desired way, whether because he had not yet assumed office, lacked jurisdiction, or for any other reason.
(3) Bribery is a class 3 felony.
Possible Penalties for Bribery in Colorado
Bribery is a felony offense in Colorado. The possible penalties for a bribery charge are serious. They include possible fines, restitution, probation, jail, and prison followed by parole. Additionally, a bribery conviction can result in serious collateral consequences including employment consequences, child custody consequences, housing consequences, immigration consequences, and many other civil consequences that can flow from a bribery conviction.
The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm has assembled a possible penalties chart to help you better understand the possible penalties a person charged with bribery in Colorado will face.
Bribery
First Degree Arson Arson 18-4-102 (Use of Explosives)
Possible Penalties
Class 3 Felony
- 4-12 years in Colorado State Prison followed by 3 years of mandatory parole; or
- Probation; and/or
- $3,000 – $750,000 fine;
- Restitution
Defenses to Bribery in Colorado
General Denial
The accused will be acquitted if the prosecution cannot prove every element of the bribery offense beyond a reasonable doubt. When the accused raises a general denial defense, the accused denies that the criminal elements of the bribery exist. General denial is related to the failure of proof defense. The failure of proof defense arises when the accused pokes holes in the prosecution’s case and argues that the prosecution failed to prove each and every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.
Lesser Non-Included Offense Defense
Lesser non-included offense defenses are somewhat novel. They often require litigation and favorable rulings from a judge before the jury can be instructed on a lesser non-included offense. The gist of a lesser non-included offense defense is that the accused admits that a crime happened but contends that the crime was not a bribery but rather some other type of crime like soliciting unlawful compensation. This defense can significantly reduce the accused’s exposure to serious felony consequences because some of the lesser non-included offenses that an accused may raise in a criminal bribery case are lower level misdemeanor offenses. This defense is uncommon but in certain cases it can be successfully raised.
Duress
Under Colorado’s duress statute C.R.S. 18-1-708, a person may not be convicted of an offense, other than a class 1 felony, based upon conduct in which he engaged at the direction of another person because of the use or threatened use of unlawful force upon him or upon another person, which force or threatened use thereof a reasonable person in his situation would have been unable to resist. This defense is not available when a person intentionally or recklessly places himself in a situation in which it is foreseeable that he will be subjected to such force or threatened use thereof. The choice of evils defense, provided in section 18-1-702, shall not be available to a defendant in addition to the defense of duress provided under this section unless separate facts exist which warrant its application.
Entrapment
Under Colorado’s entrapment statute, C.R.S. 18-1-709, the commission of acts which would otherwise constitute an offense is not criminal if the defendant engaged in the proscribed conduct because he was induced to do so by a law enforcement official or other person acting under his direction, seeking to obtain evidence for the purpose of prosecution, and the methods used to obtain that evidence were such as to create a substantial risk that the acts would be committed by a person who, but for such inducement, would not have conceived of or engaged in conduct of the sort induced. Merely affording a person an opportunity to commit an offense is not entrapment even though representations or inducements calculated to overcome the offender’s fear of detection are used.
Statute of Limitations for Bribery in Colorado
In Colorado the statute of limitations for commencing criminal charges against a person is governed by C.R.S. Section 16-5-401. The statute of limitations for commencing criminal charges for Colorado bribery crimes is as follows:
- Bribery charges must be filed within 3 years. C.R.S. 16-5-401(1)(a.5)
Contact the experienced attorneys at The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm to Fight for You Today
If you’ve been charged with a bribery offense contact the attorneys at The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm to vindicate your rights and protect your liberties. If you’re facing criminal charges or fear you may be charged time is of the essence. Start Your Free Criminal Defense Case Quote. By retaining The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm can rest assured that:
- The attorneys at The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm will use experienced investigators and experts to look into the case to get ahead of the police and prosecutors, whether there has already been an arrest or an investigation is on-going;
- The attorneys at The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm will advocate for you during your bond hearing to get you released from custody on the lowest possible amount of bail or on a personal recognizance bond;
- The attorneys at The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm will litigate all constitutional violations and fight to suppress any evidence illegally seized or obtained by police and investigators in violation of your rights;
- The attorneys at The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm are trial dogs. If you’re prepared to go all the way, so are we. We’ll take your case to the jury and fight with everything we’ve got to secure your acquittal.
- The attorneys at The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm are skilled negotiators. If you’ve made a mistake we will leave no stone unturned in presenting mitigation to contextualize your circumstances. We will obtain information and prepare a mitigation presentation or report to the prosecutor to present you in your best light and show the state and the judge that despite your mistakes you’re a dignified human being worthy of leniency and redemption. We will protect you from the overly punitive instincts of the criminal legal system and obtain the best plea bargain possible.
- If you’re up against the wall facing serious charges, jail, or prison time the attorneys at The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm have your back. From drug distribution and barfights to sex assaults and homicides the attorneys at The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm know that life gets wild and things fall apart. We’ll fight to keep your life together and advocate to ensure that you receive a non-prison sentence, or one which results in the lowest amount of prison time possible.
- If you’re wondering why we do this work, we’re in it because we care. At The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm we believe that no individual’s crime holds a candle to the injustices meted out by our unusually cruel overly punitive criminal legal system. At The Aurora Criminal Defense Law Firm we fight for people whose talents, dreams, and lives have been put on hold by a criminal accusation. Let us fight for you.