Practice Area
Arrested for domestic violence? The arrest was mandatory, and a protection order is already in place. We move fast on bond and the protection order, then go after the case itself.
Both of our founding partners started their careers as prosecutors. Before co-founding Smith & Weidinger, Bradley Smith served as a Deputy District Attorney in Mesa County and as a Denver Assistant City Attorney. We know how a domestic violence case is built from a 911 call and a few minutes of body-camera video, and how much of the real story that leaves out.
We defend domestic violence charges from our offices in Denver (1040 S. Gaylord St.) and Colorado Springs (415 N. Tejon St.), and in courts across Colorado. Juries have found our clients not guilty in domestic violence trials in Fremont, Clear Creek, Summit, and Weld counties, and we’ve had DV charges dismissed in Adams, Arapahoe, Eagle, Fremont, and Jefferson counties. You’ll work directly with the lawyer handling your case, not a call center.
Domestic violence isn’t its own crime in Colorado. It’s a designation prosecutors attach to another charge, and it brings consequences of its own.
When police find probable cause of a domestic violence crime, they must arrest. They can’t write a summons and leave (C.R.S. 18-6-803.6). The law doesn’t require them to arrest both people when both claim to be victims, but it happens. When it does, showing who the primary aggressor was often gets one of the cases dismissed.
In many Colorado jurisdictions, a DV arrest means staying in jail until a judge sets bond. The law requires that hearing within 48 hours of arriving at the jail, weekends and holidays included. The judge chooses between a personal recognizance bond and a cash or surety bond, and weighs your record, the allegations, and your work and home life. The prosecutor will describe the allegations in the worst light. A defense lawyer at that hearing puts the rest of your life in front of the judge, and bond can be revisited later if it was set too high.
Every DV case comes with a mandatory protection order that lasts while the case is open. It can bar contact with the alleged victim, even if they reach out first. It can keep you out of your own home, limit contact with your children, and require you to give up firearms and ammunition. Violating it is a new crime with its own mandatory arrest. You can ask the court to change the order, and the alleged victim has the right to be heard on that request.
A conviction adds more. The court orders a domestic violence evaluation and treatment. Colorado bars anyone convicted of a DV misdemeanor from possessing firearms until the sentence is complete, and federal law generally bars it for life. A misdemeanor DV charge becomes a class 5 felony if you have three prior DV convictions. And most DV convictions can’t be sealed, although some misdemeanors can be if the district attorney consents or a judge makes specific findings.
Colorado criminal defense
Bond and the protection order are set early, and they shape everything that follows. Get a confidential consultation with a Colorado defense attorney. Not a screener.
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Your criminal defense attorney
Bradley E. Smith
Founding Partner
Criminal Defense Attorney
Former Deputy District Attorney in Mesa County and Denver Assistant City Attorney. More than six years as a U.S. Navy officer overseas, in Japan, East Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from CU Boulder. Licensed in Colorado state and federal courts.
That prosecutorial background matters in a specific way. DV cases are charged fast, from one account taken at the worst moment of someone’s night. Prosecutors know that accounts change. A defense lawyer who has worked the other side knows what makes them reconsider a case: a recording that doesn’t match the report, a witness nobody interviewed, an injury the medical records don’t support.
We start with the bond hearing and the protection order, because they decide where you live while the case is pending.
Every domestic violence case is built from the same pieces, and each one can be tested:
We argue for a reasonable bond and a protection order you can live with. When the facts support it, we go back to court to change the order.
Recordings, body-camera footage, photos, and texts often tell a more complicated story than the arrest report.
When both people were arrested, or both were hurt, we show who started it.
Whether the relationship qualifies, and whether the act was meant to control or intimidate, can be contested.
The case belongs to the prosecutor, but the alleged victim's wishes and statements matter. We make sure the prosecutor hears all of it, through the proper channels.
We look at all of it. Then we decide, with you, whether to file motions, negotiate, or try the case.
The order below is the shape of most Colorado criminal cases. Where your case sits in it determines what can still be changed.
You will be advised of the charges, usually within 48 hours. You do not have to explain yourself to anyone, and you should not. The single most common way a defensible case becomes a difficult one is a statement given before a lawyer was involved.
The court sets bond considering the charge, your record, your ties to the community, and any perceived risk. Bond can be argued, and bond can be reduced after it’s set. A lawyer at that hearing is the difference between a number and an argument.
In any domestic violence case, a mandatory protection order issues immediately. It can bar you from your own home and from contact with your family. It can be modified — but only through the court, never by agreement with the other party.
We obtain everything the state has: reports, body camera footage, dispatch audio, lab results, officer histories. We also build what the state didn’t bother to — witnesses they never interviewed, video they never pulled.
Suppression of an unlawful stop, an unlawful search, or an involuntary statement can end a case outright. Several of our dismissals came at or immediately after a motions hearing.
Most cases resolve. Some should not. We prepare every case as though it will be tried, because that preparation is what produces the better offer — and because when a case should go to a jury, we are ready.
Recent outcomes in domestic violence cases.
Jury found our client not guilty of all charges.
Jury acquitted our client of third-degree assault and misdemeanor child abuse. Case sealed.
Jury acquitted our client of third-degree assault. Case sealed.
Dismissed after a motions hearing. Case sealed.
Dismissed after a motions hearing. Case sealed.
Dismissed at the pretrial readiness conference.
Results depend on the specific facts and legal circumstances of each case. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.
Unedited, from our Google profile.
Reviews are published on Google by the people who wrote them. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
These come up in almost every call after a DV arrest: how long jail lasts, whether you can go home, and what happens to your guns. The answers below are general. The charge, the protection order, and your history decide how they apply to you.
No. Domestic violence is a designation added to another charge, like assault, harassment, or criminal mischief, when the alleged victim is a current or former intimate partner and the act fits the legal definition.
No. Once charges are filed, the case belongs to the prosecutor. But the alleged victim’s wishes and cooperation often matter a great deal to how the prosecutor handles it.
In many jurisdictions, until a judge sets bond, which Colorado law requires within 48 hours of arriving at the jail, weekends included. Once bond is posted, the jail generally has to release you within six hours.
Often not right away. The protection order may bar contact with the alleged victim and keep you out of a shared home. You can ask the court to modify it, and we can make that request for you.
While the protection order is in effect, you may have to give up firearms and ammunition. After a DV misdemeanor conviction, Colorado bars possession until your sentence is complete, and federal law generally bars it permanently.
If it’s dismissed or you’re acquitted, generally yes. Many of our DV dismissals and acquittals were sealed. Most DV convictions can’t be sealed through the ordinary process, but some misdemeanors can be if the district attorney consents or a judge makes specific findings.
