Denver Metro Criminal Defense Attorney Dennis Champine, LLC wants to help you. We realize that your case may be in a different county then we are located in, and want to assure you that we can help in your case too. We work in Denver, Aurora, Englewood, Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Parker, Castle Rock, Lakewood, Greenwood Village, the Denver Tech Center, Cherry Hills Village, Centennial, Ken Caryl Ranch, Castle Pines, Wheat Ridge, Arvada, Evergreen, Westminster, Northglenn, Brighton, Thornton, Boulder, Montbello, Commerce City, and more!
DUI/DWI
At Dennis Champine LLC you can trust us to defend you if you have been charged with criminal offenses. We represent with a variety of charges in court, including but not limited to: DUI, DWAI, assault, theft, domestic violence, menacing, reckless/careless driving, weapons offenses, harassment, disorderly
Traffic Violations
A request for identification by the police does not, by itself, constitute a seizure. Additionally, an officer simply checking for warrants does not transform a consensual police encounter into an investigatory stop that allows for suspicion of criminal activity. If an officer keeps a person’s identification and instructs him or her to remain in the car while checking for warrants, the consensual encounter turns into an investigatory stop requiring reasonable suspicion to be justified and a demand for identification may be treated differently from a request for identification. Assuming that the encounter at issue was not consensual, the court must then evaluate why the stop occurred. There are three ways to test the reason for an investigatory stop. The first test for the validity of an investigatory stop is whether the officer had an argument and specific basis for suspecting that criminal activity had occurred or was about to take place. The phrase “articulable and specific basis in fact” is equivalent to the phrase “reasonable suspicion,” and the phrases are used interchangeably in cases addressing the issue. Whether the officer had a reasonable suspicion is determined by the total evidence. The court should consider the facts known to the officer and any reasonable inferences that may be drawn from those facts. The court may look at circumstances that include objective observations by the officer, information obtained by the officer from fellow officers, and consideration of the modes or patterns of certain kinds of criminals. The issue is one of the probabilities which are not technical but are real practical questions of everyday life. Even a minor traffic violation will provide reasonable suspicion for the stop, and it is not necessary that the defendant be actually cited for the observed violation. A traffic stop is valid if the stop is based upon an observed traffic violation or if the police officer has a reasonable, articulable suspicion that a traffic or equipment violation has occurred or is occurring. The U.S. Supreme Court has also held that reasonable suspicion can rest on a reasonable mistake of law if the officer’s cause is reasonable. Another test for determining an investigatory stop is whether the scope and character of the intrusion is reasonably related to its purpose. As the purpose of a traffic stop is usually to investigate abnormal driving and give the driver a chance to explain his or her actions, the reasonable scope of a stop is generally limited to asking the driver for identification, and for an explanation of the suspected driving offense. The officer can ask the defendant to give his or her name, address, and an explanation of his or her actions along with checking for warrants as part of the stop. The law sees it as proper within the scope of a traffic stop for an officer to ask a defendant whom he observed weaving if he has been drinking. An officer asking the defendant during a traffic stop where t
Sex Crimes
Theft
Misdemeanors
Attorney Dennis Champine is more than just an attorney, he’s a compassionate lawyer who understands how difficult and overwhelming it can feel to be in the midst of legal problems. A practicing lawyer in Aurora for criminal defense including DUI, felonies, misdemeanors, domestic violence, accidents, and other criminal violations, Dennis believes people who are facing charges, or who are in the midst of painful times in their lives, have the right to be heard and to earn a new start. Dennis focuses on helping them do just that.
Assault
Homicide
DUI, Vehicular Assault, Vehicular Homicide, DWAIÂ and DUID. Many people are charged with drug related driving under the influence charges these days too along with drinking and driving, and we are prepared to help your case with any of these charges that could potentially alter your life.
We are a Colorado based law firm with longtime experience in the Denver/Aurora metro area. As the former Mayor of Aurora and with colleagues, Kelly Fischer and Jacob Starkovich, as former district attorneys, we know most of the judges and prosecutors in the metro jurisdictions which is