Getting arrested for DUI does not mean you will be convicted. Police misconduct, defective breathalyzers and crime lab mistakes may be enough to get your charges lessened or dismissed. Visit our page on Colorado DUI Laws to learn more.
Colorado DUI
Getting arrested for DUI does not mean you will be convicted. Police misconduct, defective breathalyzers and crime lab mistakes may be enough to get your charges lessened or dismissed. Visit our page on Colorado DUI Laws to learn more.
Colorado In-Depth
It is normal to be frightened and overwhelmed following an arrest. Therefore our lawyers are devoted to demystifying major topics in Colorado criminal defense law.
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Call Us NowColorado’s statute outlawing human smuggling, CRS § 18-13-128, was repealed in 2023. Now, suspected human smugglers are prosecuted for human trafficking, kidnapping, racketeering, and other related felonies.
CRS § 18-13-128 defined human smuggling as providing transportation to a person for the purpose of entering or remaining in the country in violation of immigration laws. This was a class 3 felony, carrying 4 to 16 years in prison and a fine of up to $750,000.
The person who did the smuggling was often informally referred to as a “coyote.”
In this article, our Denver Colorado criminal defense lawyers will address:
Under the now repealed law CRS § 18-13-128, smuggling of humans was defined as providing transportation (or agreeing to provide transportation) in exchange for money to assist another person to enter or travel in the United States or Colorado in violation of immigration laws.1
Smuggling was done for money or “any other thing of value” such as promises to work off any debt through labor or sexual services. Smuggling involving coercion could also have resulted in human trafficking charges.
Each person who was transported or offered transportation resulted in a separate offense. So offering to help transport a family of four individuals in violation of immigration laws would result in four separate offenses of human smuggling.2
The Colorado State Patrol’s Smuggling and Trafficking Interdiction Unit (STIS) still focuses on criminal human smuggling across the state of Colorado. They often work together with federal immigration officers and the FBI to investigate criminal organizations smuggling people across the Colorado-state and U.S.-international borders.
Smuggling of humans in Colorado was a class 3 felony.3 The penalties for a conviction for a single incident of human smuggling included:
There was also a mandatory parole period of 5 years for a human smuggling conviction.
Human smuggling remains a federal offense. Federal law makes it a crime to provide the following assistance to an individual in violation of immigration law:
Human trafficking for involuntary servitude includes knowingly selling, transporting, or obtaining by any means another person for the purpose of coercing the other person to perform labor or services.
If the victim is an adult, human trafficking is a class 3 felony carrying:
If the victim is a child, human trafficking is a class 2 felony carrying:
Human trafficking for sexual servitude includes transporting people for the purpose of coercing them to engage in a commercial sexual activity.
If the victim is an adult, human trafficking is a class 3 felony carrying:
If the victim is a child, human trafficking is a class 2 felony carrying:
A conviction also requires mandatory registration as a sex offender.
Imprisoning another person or moving them from one place to another by force or unlawful persuasion is kidnapping. The penalties for kidnapping depend on whether the kidnapper held the victim for ransom.
In some cases, first-degree kidnapping can result in prison for up to 48 years if a deadly weapon was involved.
Sexual assault or rape involves unwanted sexual penetration of another person. The penalties for sexual assault may depend on whether
It also depends on the ages of the victim and the perpetrator. Sexual assault may require registration as a sex offender.
Racketeering is a pattern of criminal activity that often involves gangs or organized crime. This can include
Racketeering in Colorado is a class 2 felony, with penalties including
For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles: