In 2015, investigators discovered that 97 fraudulent prescriptions were made under the same name. The prescription pad belonged to a nurse practitioner around Colorado Springs, who claimed to have never issued the prescriptions or even knew many of the patients listed to receive them. She had, however, recently fired an employee who was later linked back to the scandal.

 

This was not a one-time case of prescription drug

So you’ve been charged with a crime. As you prepare for trial, you likely have penalties like jail time or heavy fees on your mind. What many people don’t realize, though, is that even once they have served their time, they will still face the surprisingly impactful consequence of lugging around a criminal record.

 

Why is this a big deal?

 

Criminal records are public online. Anyone – from

 

In recent years, police brutality and questions over excessive use of force have been heavily featured in local and national news. It seems like hardly a week has gone by without a new video of a citizen being shot, beaten, or otherwise assaulted by an officer, with “he said, she said” stories to go along.

 

One recent video from Colorado involves a 22-year-old student being body slammed to

No parent wants to face that moment where they have to pick their kid up from the police station because they were caught drinking or carrying marijuana. It’s scary. It’s embarrassing. You’re mad at your child and worried for them at the same time. What is this going to mean for their future?

 

Obviously, breaking the law in any way is not a good move for your child, but

 

There are many motives behind assault and other violent crimes: uncontrollable emotions, a verbal altercation, intoxication, and so on. Some motives can be at least partially justified in court (i.e. a “crime of passion”), but when race or other types of biases are a factor, the case can go in the opposite way: penalties and charges may increase.

 

In other words, by arguing that you hurt someone due