Understanding the Connection
At High Country Legal Group, we recognize the undeniable link between mental health and involvement in the criminal justice system. Far too often, individuals find themselves entangled in the criminal justice system due to an underlying mental health condition or even a singular mental health crisis.
Statistics illustrate a sad reality: people who suffer from mental illness are disproportionately over-represented within the criminal justice system. Criminal courts have become a revolving door for those suffering from a mental health condition.
Colorado’s criminal court system—like many across the country—is ill-equipped to adequately address mental health. Shortcomings in Colorado include:
- Most prosecutors, judges, and even defense attorneys lack specialized training in mental health.
- Jails and prisons are often used by law enforcement and the courts as de facto mental health treatment centers due to the lack of community-based resources.
- Most probation departments do not have specialized mental health units or even probation officers with specialized mental health training; and
- Many defense attorneys do not adequately understand the interplay between mental health and the criminal laws in Colorado. As such, they lack the experience or expertise to mount a successful mental health defense.
Regrettably, these shortcomings are even more pronounced in mountain communities because there are fewer resources, providers, and treatment options available compared to the metro area.
High Country Legal Group exists to bridge this gap and bring the same caliber of representation, expertise, and resources to the mountain communities. Marshall Breit and Chad Oxman have decades of experience successfully navigating the criminal justice system on behalf of clients with a wide range of mental health challenges.
Mental Health as the Cause, and the Key to the Defense
Mental health issues often result in criminal justice involvement. At the same time, mental health can also be the basis for a robust defense in a criminal prosecution and can be critical mitigation in the case. There are specific mental health considerations that must be evaluated in a criminal case.
In Colorado, the following are possible mental health defenses and considerations in a criminal case:
- Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI): This defense applies when, due to a mental disease or defect, a defendant was incapable of distinguishing right from wrong with respect to the alleged criminal conduct at the time of the act. If the jury finds that the defendant was unable to distinguish right from wrong at the time of the alleged act, the jury must return a not guilty verdict.
- Impaired Mental Condition: When a mental health condition prevents a defendant from forming the specific intent required for a crime. For example, demonstrating that a client’s mental health condition prevented them from engaging in deliberation or the intent required for first-degree murder.
- Competency to Proceed: This is not a defense to criminal charges, but instead addresses whether a defendant understands the proceedings and is capable of participating in their own defense. A defendant who is not competent to proceed can not be prosecuted unless or until they are restored to competency.
- Mental Health Mitigation: Even if the legal threshold for complete exoneration is not met, mental health remains a critical consideration that judges and prosecutors should take into account when making decisions about a case. The defense attorney needs to assemble the relevant information and present it to both the court and the District Attorney in a persuasive manner that educates the parties, when necessary, about the mental health condition at issue.
- Mental Health Plan: Often, clients involved in the criminal justice system because of a mental health condition or episode have limited or no previous mental health treatment history. Some clients are unaware of the resources available or even where to start in addressing their mental health. Helping clients create a meaningful mental health plan and connecting them to the appropriate resources is essential both for the client’s overall well-being and often for the criminal case as well.
High Country Legal Group possesses decades of specialized experience in utilizing all types of mental health defense strategies and helping our clients leverage their mental health considerations to benefit them legally in the courts.
Our Specialized Approach
At High Country Legal Group, we bring a different perspective to cases involving mental health:
- Comprehensive Case Evaluation: We assess not just the legal aspects of your case, but potential underlying mental health factors that may have contributed to the situation and how those factors could be used to your benefit in the criminal case.
- Specialized Knowledge: We understand the intersection of mental health and criminal law better than anyone. With this knowledge, we build winning mental health strategies for our clients.
- Strategic Defense Planning: We leverage our extensive resources and professional network, established through years of experience, to develop strong legal strategies centered on mental health.
- Resource Navigation: When appropriate, we connect clients and their families with the right mental health resources that benefit both their legal case and overall well-being.
An Established, Successful Track Record
What separates High Country Legal Group from the rest? Unrivaled expertise in criminal cases involving mental health. Marshall Breit and Chad Oxman bring decades of combined experience transforming mental health conditions into powerful legal advantages for our clients facing criminal charges.
High Country Legal Group has built an unparalleled network of psychiatrists, psychologists, neuropsychologists, social workers, and mental health professionals, all of whom are ready to devote their expertise to our clients’ legal matters.
High Country Legal Group has established a record of success in criminal cases involving mental health that few firms can match. Our track record speaks for itself:
- We have repeatedly secured not guilty verdicts using mental health defenses, including both impaired mental condition and not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI);
- We have secured numerous case dismissals based specifically on mental health considerations;
- We have secured numerous no-file decisions by the District Attorney’s Office after sharing our clients’ stories and efforts at treatment.
- We have negotiated diversion opportunities for our clients in serious felony matters based on mental health information.
- We know how to effectively educate prosecutors, judges, juries, and probation officers on mental health issues, resulting in far better outcomes for our clients.
Our Commitment to Mountain Communities
Mental health resources and experienced defense attorneys are often scarce in Colorado’s mountain communities. We formed High Country Legal Group with a clear mission in mind: to raise the bar in smaller mountain jurisdictions as it pertains to legal representation in cases involving mental health.
Contact Us for a Consultation
If you or a loved one is facing criminal charges and mental health is a factor, contact High Country Legal Group today. We bring the sophisticated legal expertise of our Denver practices to mountain communities, ensuring that mental health considerations are adequately addressed and utilized in all stages of the criminal case.
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Each case is unique and requires individualized legal analysis.