July 19, 2014 Denver, Colorado The letter arrived in the mailbox of an Aurora movie theater shooting survivor half a year after the attack. In its six paragraphs of carefully, sympathetically written prose, a woman offered to help the survivor communicate with defense...
We all know that Darren Rainey, a severely mentally ill person, should not have been detained in a law enforcement environment. We are all ashamed that we live in a society that would lock this 50-year-old man in a shower...
The United States Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a cutoff of a 70 IQ to determine mental retardation is unconstitutional. The standard of error is +- 5, and the decision to execute Mr. Freddie Lee Hall who has an I.Q. of...
April 23, 2014 Aspen, Colorado In about six weeks, the Aspen community will hear details on what allegedly happened when Nancy Pfister died. A judge has scheduled the first major court hearings for three people charged with committing murder against Pfister. That...
This is a recent article from the Denver Post on the intersection of the mental health system and the criminal justice system titled "Colorado Sees Sharp Rise in Competency Exams for Criminal Defendants." This issue has come up broadly in my...
Denver criminal defense attorney Iris Eytan, who led a successful lawsuit against the state to ensure that the evaluations are done in a timely manner, said she’s concerned about the quality of the evaluations. Independent experts, however, say the quality...
April 2, 2014 Aspen, Colorado It’s still not clear when to expect the first significant court hearings in the alleged murder of Aspen native Nancy Pfister. Attorneys, the prosecution, and a district Judge met yesterday, Wednesday April 2nd, to put those hearings...
Kosgar Lado , a 21 year old resident of Lansing, Michigan, a Sudanese refugee, and a person who was diagnosed with schizophrenia is being charged with lying to police officers, when he falsely confessed to a homicide. And, to add insult...
The United States Supreme Court heard oral argument on March 3, 2014 to determine whether an IQ test score of 70 or below should be the cutoff for determining if an individual is mentally retarded, or properly stated, intellectually disabled....
The Atlantic is providing coverage and insight into the ongoing Autobee victim's rights case. The article titled, "How a Colorado Judge Just Blocked the Victims' Right Movement" is worth a read. Iris Eytan is a Partner at Reilly Pozner LLP. She practices...