Kari Jones Dulin, president of the Colorado Trial Lawyer Association (CTLA), says the rights of defendants must be respected, following news a Colorado private investigator was charged with drug crimes – which her lawyer vehemently denies – after interviewing a client in jail awaiting trial.
“A lawyer and their private investigator must be allowed to speak to their clients in a safe space – within the boundaries of the law – and be able to communicate and advocate for their client,” says Dulin.
“And if in fact, in this particular scenario, something inappropriate happened, such that this investigator has been unjustly charged, and it has caused a chilling effect in that regard, that should not be happening.”
Dulin’s comments come after Laura Tellers, 52, a private investigator, was arrested on November 17 on two counts each of intent to distribute drugs and knowingly introducing contraband into Weld County Jail. She has plead not guilty and will face trial on July 22.
At the time of her arrest, Tellers was working as an investigator for Fort Collins-based criminal and family law firm, Sedlak Law, which was defending Marquis Daniels, an inmate facing murder charges.
Colorado lawyers and private investigators, who must go into jails to interview their clients, are deeply concerned about the case, as they worry they might get unfairly accused of fraternizing with defendants.
Teller’s attorney, Lee Christian, is adamant his client is innocent and suggests she is a scapegoat of law enforcers who want to pin the jail’s drug problem on his client.
“She has a long history of exceptional and credible work for attorneys throughout Weld and Larimer County. She has a teenage son. She is engaged to be married. There are numerous attorneys and judges who will testify as to her honesty, credibility, and reputation,” says Christian in a motion to the court to dismiss the case.
Christian’s motion also says Tellers is an innocent victim of a “plan” devised by an inmate who is trying to get out of jail – and overzealous prosecutors who wanted Tellers, and the defense attorneys she worked for, kicked off a murder case.
According to the Greeley Police Department, Tellers smuggled fentanyl and meth into the jail, concealed in documents before giving them to her client Marquis Daniels, an inmate at Weld County Jail facing murder charges, who then strapped them to his penis to avoid detection, before selling the drugs to other inmates.
The case against Tellers is largely built on interviews with jailhouse informant Frederick Rios, who shared a cell Daniels. Rios told police Tellers was regularly bringing Daniels drugs.
However, the motion to dismiss suggests Rios is lying and says he would “do anything to get out of jail” and that he is not a credible witness.
CTLA president Dulin says inmates have a Constitutional right to see lawyers and investigators, as they prepare to defend themselves in court.
“Without having all the information about what happened, I do believe it is imperative, to be the best advocate that you can in defending your client against criminal charges, that you should be allowed to go and see your client, again within the boundaries of the law.
“We are talking about life and liberty here. And nothing is more important than that.”
