State Agencies
- Colorado State Public Defenders
- Office of the Child's Representative
- Office of Respondent Parent Counsel
- Colorado Bureau of Investigations - Criminal Records Check
- Colorado Bureau of Investigations
- Colorado Department of Corrections
Link to Administrative Regulations, Facility information, and inmate information. - Colorado Inmate Locator
- Clemency
Federal Agencies
- United States Government Website
Includes a directory of US Government Agencies. - Bureau of Prisons
Site includes an inmate locator.
Federal Inmate Statistics can be accessed here. - Bureau of Justice Statistics
The mission of the BJS is to collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government.
Click here for an index list of topics. - Govspeak
A guide to acronyms and abbreviations used by the Federal Government with links to the relevant websites. - Federal PDs
Incredible resources, all free of charge from the Federal PD's Training Division. Includes materials from training events and the ability to watch past training events, publications, and resource materials.
Legislative Links
- Colorado General Assembly
- Live Audio/Video of Legislature
- Office of Legislative Legal Services
The Office of Legislative Legal Services is the non-partisan, in-house counsel for the Colorado General Assembly and writes laws, produces statutes, reviews administrative rules, comments on initiated measures, and serves as a resource of legislative information for the public. - Digest of Bills
Provides a summary of all new laws by year and then by subject matter. - National Conference of State Legislatures
Information about pre-trial release, right to counsel, and body camera laws in all 50 states, in addition to a robust section on civil and criminal justice research.
Judicial Links
- Colorado Judicial Branch
- Colorado Court Certified Interpreters
- Colorado Supreme Court
Links to Case Announcements, Oral Arguments Schedules and Archives, Protocols, Chief Justice Directives, Rule Changes, and Rule 21 Original Proceedings. - Colorado Criminal Jury Instructions (COLJI)
- Colorado Attorney Search
- Colorado Court Of Appeals
Link to Case Announcements, Oral Arguments Schedules and Archives, Protocols, and Forms and Policies. Request unpublished opinions under Case Announcements section. - Colorado Courts Docket Search
Professional Organizations
- Colorado Criminal Defense Bar (CCDB)
- Colorado Bar Association (CoBar)
Link to the Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct - PPIAC - Professional Private Investigators Association of Colorado
The PPIAC was formed to improve the credibility of private investigators, and to provide guidelines for a licensing statute in the State of Colorado. The PPIAC focuses on continuous education while providing framework for ethical conduct and fosters professionalism in its members. The PPIAC Mentoring Program is designed to provide support to new investigators. - National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA)
NLADA serves as the collective voice for our country’s civil legal aid and public defender services and provides advocacy, training, technical assistance and the NLADA Insurance Program to its members, who are comprised of legal professionals, institutions and the people they represent. - National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL)
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) is the preeminent organization in the United States advancing the mission of the nation's criminal defense lawyers to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime. - American Bar Association (ABA)
Link to the Model Rules for Professional Conduct
Link to the Model Defense Function
Link to the Model Prosecution Function
Link to the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants - National Association for the Public Defender (NAPD)
Great resources for members like free webinars and access to MyGideon.org, an online library of defense. Membership is $25/year and is available to attorneys and non-attorneys. - Colorado Legal Services
Legal help for low-income Coloradans seeking assistance with civil legal needs. - Center for Legal Inclusiveness
Provides awareness and training to promote inclusiveness within legal organizations and support legal professionals who wish to make the profession more inclusive and diverse.
Juvenile Specific Resources
- National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC)
NJDC is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting justice for all children by ensuring excellence in juvenile defense. NJDC provides support to public defenders, appointed counsel, law school clinical programs, and non-profit law centers to ensure quality representation in urban, suburban, rural, and tribal areas. NJDC also offers a wide range of integrated services to juvenile defenders, including training, technical assistance, advocacy, networking, collaboration, capacity building, and coordination.
Links to many quality publications and resources for juvenile defenders. - Transformative Justice Project of Colorado (formerly The Colorado Juvenile Defender Center) is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring excellence in juvenile defense and justice for all children in Colorado.
- USF School of Law Project to End Juvenile Life Without Parole
This section provides information on US state laws and laws of other nations, international treaties, United Nations resolutions, as well as access to a brief bank and other legal materials that can assist in juvenile justice advocacy.
Criminal Justice Reform Organizations/Evidence-Based Decision Making
- The National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Conviction
Provides news, commentary, and tools relating to the collateral consequences of criminal convictions and restoration of rights. - The Counsel of State Governments Justice Center
The Counsel of State Governments Justice Center is a national nonprofit organization that serves policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels from all branches of government. Staff provides practical, nonpartisan advice and evidence-based, consensus-driven strategies to increase public safety and strengthen communities. The site includes a lot of great material on the EDBM model, prison reform, and generally how the broken system can be improved. - Bureau of Justice Assistance
The BJA is a component of the Office of Justice Programs. The site contains articles and research materials on the EBDM model, prison reform, reentry, adjudication, corrections, crime prevention, mental health, and substance abuse. - Center for Court Innovation
The Center for Court Innovation seeks to help create a more effective and humane justice system by designing and implementing operating programs, performing original research, and providing reformers around the world with the tools they need to launch new strategies. - National Center for State Courts
All of NCSC's services — research, information services, education, consulting — are focused on helping courts plan, make decisions, and implement improvements that save time and money, while ensuring judicial administration that supports fair and impartial decision-making.
Clink this link for list of resources by topic. - Access to Justice Initiative
The U.S. Department of Justice established the Access to Justice Initiative (ATJ) in March 2010 to address the access-to-justice crisis in the criminal and civil justice system. ATJ’s mission is to help the justice system efficiently deliver outcomes that are fair and accessible to all, irrespective of wealth and status.
Link to Publications. - Evidence-Based Practices Implementation for Capacity Resource Center
The EPIC project was created by the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCCJJ) in 2009 to implement evidence-based practices into the criminal justice system. The CCCJJ generates recommendations aimed at improving the criminal justice system ineffective and long-lasting ways, which is especially important in a time when resources are limited. - Pew Charitable Trusts
The Pew Charitable Trusts is driven by the power of knowledge to solve today's most challenging problems. Pew applies a rigorous, analytical approach to improve public policy, inform the public and invigorate civic life.
Use this link to access articles relating to justice, sentencing, and public safety. - VERA Institute of Justice
The Vera Institute of Justice combines expertise in research, demonstration projects, and technical assistance to help leaders in government and civil society improve the systems people rely on for justice and safety.
Resource library is searchable by keyword, topic, or project. - Equal Justice Initiative
The Equal Justice Initiative is a private, nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to indigent defendants and prisoners who have been denied fair and just treatment in the legal system.
The Resources section has lots of resources about race, poverty, and the death penalty.
Client Resources
- Colorado Legal Services
In most cases, CLS is required to follow the Federal Poverty Guidelines here in order to determine financial eligibility, but, in some instances eligibility requirements may differ, for example if you are 60 or older, or depending on the legal issue (for example if you are a victim of domestic violence). It would be helpful for you to contact CLS so CLS can accurately determine your eligibility for services. - Jeffco Fresh Start (warrant forgiveness)
- People with active warrants in Gilpin or Jefferson counties in the following categories will have an opportunity to resolve their case without being arrested:
- • Low-level, non-violent misdemeanors and traffic offenses
- • Select low-level non-violent felonies which have been reclassified as misdemeanors
- • Some class 5 and class 6 felony property offenses and class 4 drug felonies
- The Fresh Start event will not only benefit individuals with outstanding warrants but will cut down on the costs to taxpayers and allow law enforcement to direct their resources toward offenders who commit higher level crimes and directly victimize others in the community. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Questions about probation violation warrants This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
- Expunge Colorado Expunge Colorado is dedicated to providing education, training, consultation and access to pro bono legal services for record sealing of eligible criminal cases in Colorado. Since 2018, the founders of Expunge Colorado have provided and hosted a free, annual record sealing event in the fall serving all Coloradans.
- Korey Wise Innocence Project
The Korey Wise Innocence Project (KWIP) has been part of the University of Colorado Law School community since 2010. Originally called the Colorado Innocence Project, the organization was founded in 2001 by Jim Scarboro ('70) and a small group of other lawyers, and fell under the Colorado Lawyers Committee. In 2010, the project moved to Colorado Law, where it was coordinated by Clinical Professor Pat Furman ('80) and later Clinical Professor Ann England. Until 2015, the project was fully volunteer-run and had no staff. Without paid staff for its first 15 years, the project was only able to screen cases and then refer promising ones to pro bono lawyers in the community. - Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN)
The Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) is a non-profit organization that serves low-income men, women, and children in immigration proceedings. The site provides self-help resources and a detention hotline for individuals in immigrant detention in Colorado. - Remerg
Remerg is a nonprofit in Denver, Colorado, with a mission to reduce recidivism by providing current re-entry information to people involved in Colorado’s criminal justice systems.
Miscellaneous
- ABA National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Conviction (NICCC)
The ABA National Inventory of Collateral Consequences of Conviction (“NICCC”) is a project of the ABA’s Criminal Justice Section (“CJS”). It is an online database of the collateral consequences of criminal convictions contained in the laws and regulations of the federal, state and territorial jurisdictions of the United States.