Greeley Harassment Lawyer

Bruno Lilly LeClere

At Bruno Lilly LeClere, PLLC, our Greeley harassment defense attorney provides compassionate, tenacious, and justice-driven legal advocacy. A conviction on a harassment charge can carry serious criminal penalties, including jail time. If you or a family member were charged with harassment, we are here to protect your rights and find the best path forward.

To set up a fully confidential consultation with a top Colorado defense lawyer, please contact us at our Greeley law office today.

How Does Colorado Define Harassment?

Colorado has one of the country’s most complex and comprehensive criminal harassment laws. It is crucial that any person charged with the offense of criminal harassment understands how the standard defines the term harassment. Under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-9-111, a person may face a charge for criminal harassment if they do one or more of the following with the “intent to harass, annoy, or alarm another person:”

• Strike, shove, kick, or otherwise subject them to unwanted physical contact;
• Use obscene language or an obscene gesture (public place only);
• Follow another person in or around a public place;
• Make threats through phone, text, internet, or other forms of communication;
• Make repeated communications at inconvenient times that invade a person’s privacy; and
• Make repeated unwanted insults or taunts at another person.

Kiana Arellano’s Law 101

Kiana Arellano’s Law is a 2015 revision to Colorado’s harassment law to impose clear criminal penalties for harassment committed via cyberbullying. As reported by Colorado Public Radio, Kiana Arellano—a Colorado student who was then a sophomore in high school—was subject to intense and repeated harassment through social media.

She was told that she should kill herself. Tragically, the harassment results in a suicide attempt. She thankfully survived, but the attempt left her confined to a wheelchair. Kiana Arellano’s Law ensures that Colorado’s harassment statute criminalizes cyberbullying and increases the penalties associated with an offense.

An Overview of Colorado’s Harassment Penalties

The criminal penalties for harassment in Colorado vary based on the specific nature of the allegations. On the low end of the spectrum, an obscene gesture in a public place is classified as a petty criminal offense. It carries a maximum of ten days in jail. Most other types of harassment in Colorado are classified as Class 2 misdemeanor offenses.

The maximum penalty is 120 days in jail and a $750 fine. However, harassment due to unlawful touching is heightened to a Class 1 misdemeanor offense.

The maximum punishment is 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. It is also important to emphasize that people charged with harassment could also face concurrent criminal charges. Some of those charges could carry even more severe penalties, including felony penalties.

Legal Defense for Harassment Charges

Every person charged with a crime in Colorado is presumed innocent until proven guilty. A criminal harassment charge is no exception to the rule. You have the right to raise a zealous defense. Some potential defenses against a harassment charge in Colorado include:

Understanding Harassment Charges (Examples)

To best understand what is and what is not criminal harassment in Colorado, it is useful to consider some hypothetical examples. Here are some examples of how the criminal harassment statute applies:

Why Choose Our Greeley Criminal Defense Attorney for Help

Harassment charges are complicated. You need an experienced advocate on your side. Our founding attorney Havilah Louise Bruno Lilly is a former prosecutor who is devoted to providing the highest level of legal representation to clients.

We are compassionate and proactive. Among other things, our Greeley harassment defense lawyer is prepared to:

• Hear your story, answer questions, and explain what comes next;
• Investigate the charges—gathering all exonerating evidence; 
• Represent you in all discussions with police and prosecutors; and
• Develop a personalized defense strategy to protect your rights, freedom, and future.