Merson Law Office

Merson Law Office James Merson is a criminal defense attorney in Longmont, Colorado. Mr. Merson's goal is to provide his clients with the best defense possible.

He was a public defender in Greeley from 2005 to 2019 and was awarded "Attorney of the Year" in 2010.

05/15/2025

In a case that seemed to hinge on the credibility of the alleged victim's testimony the Court of Appeals for Colorado rules that there apparently is no problem with the jury not being instructed that they can consider the "lack of evidence," a standard phrase in all Colorado Criminal Model Jury Instructions. Unreal.

03/03/2024

The State of Texas killed Ivan Cantu last night. I was there with him, standing near his face, holding his hand, and praying into his ear until the chemicals killed him. God's grace was with him and with me. He was one of the most faith-filled, self-directed people I have ever encountered. His strength helped me. His last words were directed calmly and clearly to the victims' families watching him die from the witness chambers. "I did not kill James Mosqueda and Amy Kitchen. If I had known who killed them I would have gotten the information to you in any way I could. But I did not kill them, and if your hope in coming here is because you seek closure or peace, I'm afraid you’re going to be disappointed."

Ivan thanked his mother and lawyer and friends, who supported him over his 23 years of imprisonment. As I prayed with him I promised him I would continue to tell his story so that through his passion and death, people's hearts and minds will be awakened to the need to end the death penalty.

The poison acted quickly. He drew in a few sharp breaths, then opened his mouth wide and gave up his spirit. I prayed, "Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit," just as Jesus prayed from the cross.

When I knew Ivan was gone, I stepped back a bit from the gurney to wait for the prison doctor to declare the time of death. I knew Ivan's suffering and mighty struggle to get the truth out to the courts and the people were over. Maybe part of the strength I feel within me now in the aftermath of his death is knowing I did all I knew to do to try to save his life.

I call on everyone reading this to join me in the urgent work to end this terrible torture and killing of human beings that our Supreme Court legalizes and blesses. It is the work of Jesus that we do: "You have heard it said, 'an eye for an eye'... but I say to you…" It is the precious work of human rights.

Today, February 29, I am spending the day with Ivan's mother, Sylvia, herself a valiant, faith-filled woman. When word came to her of her son's death last night, people with her could hear her loud sustained wail of grief throughout the house. Now, along with the victims' families, another mother mourns her dead child.

I'm OK, though it all still seems pretty unreal. Did Texas really kill Ivan in that small room last night? And was I standing there so close to him, holding his hand?

I return to New Orleans tomorrow. I will be glad to leave Texas, the biggest killing state in the nation. Thank you, Sisters and friends from all over, who pray for me and sustain me.

Sister Helen Prejean

06/12/2023

I'll have to bring this quote up the next time a DA says they just wan the jury to hear "the truth" : "As a result, the prosecution was able to tell two conflicting narratives. Before the judge, the prosecution argued that Villalobos’s connection to the crime was so strong that any testimony she gave would be necessarily incriminating. But to the jury, which convicted Rios-Vargas, the prosecution called the alternate suspect theory the “[v]ery definition of imaginary and speculative.”

11/14/2022

A horrific opinion by the Colorado Supreme Court: a public defender, Darren Struble, leaves the PD office and starts working for the DA's office. One of Struble's prior clients at the PD office, who was represent by Struble on a freaking First Degree Murder charge while he was with the PD office, is charged with a crime which is prosecuted by that Struble's new employer: the DA office. Court refuses to appoint a special prosecutor. Unreal.

11/04/2021

Jury on a criminal case was split 11-1 in favor of a guilty verdict. Defense moves for mistrial. What does the trial judge do? Dismisses the 1 juror and allows the 11 jurors to submit the (non-unanimous) jury verdict, shredding a million constitutional rights in the process. Unreal that this trial judge ever got to the bench.

10/28/2021

Violation of protection order sentences must run consecutive to the sentence in the case that created the protection order. Apparently even when the initial sentence is deemed illegal. "The sentence he was serving was an illegal sentence but it can still be used to aggravate his other sentence." -CO COA. What a complete garbage opinion. That is like saying, "he was acquitted and found not guilty but we're still going to punish him for it."

09/27/2021

"Before expert testimony may be presented to a jury, it must pass through the gate of admissibility—a gate trial courts have been entrusted with vigilantly guarding." The most hypocritical opening line of all time, written by J. Samour before he gave the thumbs up to generalized domestic violence expert witness testimony that will no doubt be used again and again in "close call" cases as something for the jury to hang their hat on when there truly is no other evidence. What a horrific decision. https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Court_Probation/Supreme_Court/Opinions/2019/19SC249.pdf

05/28/2021

That awkward moment when a division of the Colorado Court of Appeals rules that a district court judge (who is now on the CO Supreme Court) erred in finding that the DA had a "race neutral" reason for dismissing a black juror--in two separate appeals. It's clear that the second time around, Judge (now Justice) Samour gave the DA an astonishing among of latitude in reaching for any possible race neutral reason for dismissing the black juror. Even an Owens appointee from COA, COA Judge Roman, ruled that the judge was out of line. Way to go with the CO Supreme Court appointments, Hick! Truly a gem of a jurist you found in Samour!

04/19/2021

Love it when a pro se litigant wins in front of the CO Supreme Court against the awesome powers of the state. Fremont County was apparently trying to quickly process (deny) habeas petitions from DOC inmates by assigning them to a magistrate, whose jurisdiction requires the consent of the parties (even when one party has a DOC number).

04/12/2021

Never underestimate the ways the government will try and introduce shady evidence to a jury. In this case, the prosecution tried to use a police officer as a "witness interview" expert that somehow has the magical ability to interpret this gesture or that gesture into a full confession. Unreal.

01/29/2021

People accused of s*x offenses seem to have limited rules of evidence and a limited constitution that applies to their case. Did the trial court err in this case? Yes. Multiple times. And it erred in introducing the most damning evidence in the trial. BUT, since dude was accused of very serious s*x offenses, the appellate court jumps through incredible mental gymnastics to affirm the conviction.

01/07/2021

This opinion makes clear that only under very limited circumstances can police "force" a blood draw on someone that is not willing to consent to a blood draw in a DUI related case. A (rare) example of a Colorado Appellate Court throwing out evidence that is the fruit of the poisonous tree as it was taken in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

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636 Coffman, Suite 200
Longmont, CO
80501

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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