All Episodes

July 9, 2025 12 mins

What happens when your worst day collides with the legal system? Attorney Ryan Markus pulls back the curtain on criminal defense in this eye-opening conversation that challenges how we think about justice, rehabilitation, and second chances.

After years as a public defender serving Fort Collins' most vulnerable populations, Markus now brings that same compassion and insider knowledge to his private practice. He tackles the pervasive myth that alternatives to incarceration are "letting people off easy," explaining how probation and community-based sentences demand accountability while providing pathways to rehabilitation. "These aren't bad things," Markus insists. "They're things that help our community."

The discussion takes a powerful turn when Markus addresses the common question: "How can you defend those people?" His response cuts to the heart of our shared humanity. "By the time I see them, they know they've done wrong," he explains. "If people really sat with these individuals and realized the trauma they've experienced, the ways they themselves have been victims of crime—I think they would judge a lot less." Drawing from personal experience, Markus reveals how his own brushes with the law in his youth shaped his understanding of the vital role defense attorneys play in navigating an overwhelmingly complex system.

Perhaps most compelling is Markus's candid assessment of Colorado's mental health crisis and its impact on the criminal justice system. He describes police officers forced to function as social workers, communities grappling with visible mental illness on their streets, and families desperate for resources that simply don't exist. "We took away asylums because they were barbaric, which was the right thing to do, but we didn't fill that gap," he observes. "We need to do better."

Whether you're facing charges yourself or simply curious about how our justice system really works, Markus's perspective is both enlightening and deeply human. Ready to learn more? Visit https://www.markuslegal.com/ or call 970-698-5334 for a free consultation with an attorney who believes your worst mistake shouldn't define your entire future.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Are you in need of aprofessional defender who knows
the system and understands thelaw?
The right advocate might becloser than you think.
Today I have the pleasure ofintroducing your good neighbor,
ryan Marcus, with Marcus Law.
Ryan, how's it going?
It's going very good.
Thanks for having me on Good.
Tell us all about your business.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
So I was a public defender for a number of years
helping the indigent members ofthe Fort Collins community,
which was something that Ireally enjoyed.
Since leaving, I've started myown practice with Marcus Law,
where you get the benefit of usknowing basically the judges,
the district attorneys, beinglocal members of your Fort
Collins community and reallybeing able to give you help in

(00:55):
the area that you're at.
I think that everybody makesmistakes.
Unfortunately, some people'smistakes land them in a little
bit more consequences than otherpeople's, but everybody
deserves to be helped andeverybody deserves to have
somebody to show that theyshouldn really feeling bad about
the things that they've done orwhen they've been unfairly
prosecuted or unfairly facingwhat I think can be the very

(01:30):
draconian arm of the stateoccasionally.
And so we're here to help,we're here to make you feel
comfortable and we're here tomake sure that you still have a
future ahead of you again,outside of maybe the worst
mistake or worst day that you'veever had or even the unfair arm
of the state.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
How did you get into defending the general public in
the way that you do?

Speaker 3 (01:54):
Well, I was lucky enough to get hired by the state
public defender's office herein Colorado.
The way that that works, whicha lot of people don't know, is
you get hired by the state andthen you just get placed
anywhere in the state.
So I had the benefit of beingplaced in Fort Collins.
I am from Nebraska Omaha,nebraska, originally been here

(02:15):
for about 11 years and reallyjust love Fort Collins.
My wife and I are childrenWe've really taken to the town.
We think it's a beautiful area.
We're lucky enough these daysto be in North Windsor or East
Tinnith, which is also abeautiful area, and I myself got
in some trouble when I wasyounger not too much, but
certainly enough that I waslucky enough to have the help of

(02:37):
some good attorneys and Ireally saw the ways in which
it's so important that we havepeople that can help navigate
the incredibly complicatedprocess of the criminal justice
system.
It can be a good system, it canbe a bad system.
It really depends, I think, onthe people that are in it.
When I was in it, I felt like Igot to help people that were

(02:59):
sort of in my shoes when I wasmuch younger and people that
were even in much worse shoesthan I was ever in, shoes that I
think many of us could neverimagine having to walk in, and
so the other thing I would sayis that when I started with the
Public Defender's Office, it was, and still is, a great office.
The Fort Collins PublicDefender's Office is a great

(03:20):
office of good people thatreally want to help people that
don't have a lot of financialresources, people that are in
the lower rungs of society, andso I really had the privilege, I
think, of working with peoplethat were good, people that were
incredibly intelligent anddoing work that I felt was good
work, helpful work for people.
Now I do that in a privatecapacity.

(03:42):
A lot of our firm's work isalternative defense counsel,
which is essentially stillproviding public defender
services to people that areindigent, which gives us the
benefit, and gives me thebenefit, of regularly being in
the courtroom, regularly beingaround the district attorneys
and judges in Fort Collins, andso in part, I think it kind of
came from some issues I had inmy childhood.
But really working at the publicdefender's office just felt

(04:05):
like the right calling for me,and I'm lucky to get to continue
that work with Marcus Law.

Speaker 2 (04:10):
What are some myths or misconceptions in defending
the public?

Speaker 3 (04:16):
You know, I think, a common.
I don't know if I'd say it's amyth or a misconception, but I
think there's really amisunderstanding of the criminal
justice system in Fort Collins.
You know, I'm sometimes onsocial media, I'm sometimes on
the subreddits, occasionallylooking at the Facebook, and I
think people don't alwaysunderstand the ways in which the
criminal justice system is verycomplicated and the ways in

(04:37):
which, while it is supposed tobe punitive and is supposed to
be punitive, it really is alsosupposed to be rehabilitative.
It's really also supposed tohelp people avoid coming back
and engaging in the same kind ofbehavior that got them in
trouble in the first place.
You know, sometimes I think Isee people look out and say you
know how, why didn't that persongo to jail?

(04:58):
Why didn't that person go toprison?
Why are they being given theopportunity of probation and
this notion that they're sort ofjust walking, and I would
really push back on that.
I think that probation can be agreat option.
I think that a lot of thecommunity-based sentences that
are available are meant torehabilitate people and they
don't let people off the leash.
They are expensive, they aretime intensive, they are

(05:18):
treatment intensive and ifpeople don't comply with any
aspect of that sentence, theycome back and they face
incarceration, and so I do thinkthat there are a lot of good
rehabilitative things that thecriminal justice system can do
to help people that might bestruggling with addiction, that
might be struggling withstability, that might be
struggling with poverty.
Those aren't bad things.

(05:38):
They're not things that hurtour community.
They're things that help ourcommunity.
Our goal should be to make itso that people aren't in
situations where they'recommitting crimes, and of course
, there will be bad apples thatneed to be locked away for
longer periods of time.
But I really do hope people andI think people that have
experienced it have seen thatthere are a lot of good ways
that the criminal justice systemcan punish people while still

(06:02):
giving them treatment, and Ithink that's a good thing.
I think it's something ourcommunity should be behind, and
I think sometimes it can be alittle misunderstood the way
that that happens, and I'll alsooccasionally get the question
of you know how can yourepresent these people?
And I think if you sat in aroom with a lot of them, you
really wouldn't say that.
You know they're people.
Everybody deserves help.

(06:23):
Everybody deserves to be seenas a human being that should be
respected.
By the time I see them, theyknow they've done wrong.
Frequently they've sat in jail,they've sat in prison, and if
people really sat with a lot ofthese people and realized what
they've gone through, the traumathey've experienced, the ways
that they themselves have beenvictims of crime, I think people

(06:46):
would be a lot less, wouldjudge people a lot less than
they do.
It's rare that I meet peoplewhere, while I might disagree
with what they did, I don'tunderstand how their history
sometimes led them to do it.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
Who are your target clients and how do you attract
them now?

Speaker 3 (07:06):
So a lot of my, a lot of the clients that I get are
actually through referrals.
People know me pretty well atthe courthouse, people know me
in the jail and so I have thebenefit of name recognition and
people kind of referring peopleto me when they get in trouble
because they know that.
I am somebody that's going totake the time to sit with you
and talk to you and understandyour circumstances and
understand your situation and, Ithink, really give people the

(07:29):
help they deserve.
I think my target audience isreally anybody that's in trouble
.
They're looking at thesecharges, they're looking at
these and they're thinking theirwhole life is over, that
they've made a terrible mistakeand that they've ruined their
future.
And I hope those people takethe time to not dwell in that
but to call me or to callsomeone that can help, because

(07:50):
we're here, we're ready to talk,we're ready to provide free
consultations and we're ready tohelp you feel comfortable, that
you can be okay, you know,despite maybe a very serious
charge or a very serious mistake.
And so my target audience isreally anybody that's looking at
their case, looking at charges,looking at the criminal justice
system and feeling veryoverwhelmed and just need

(08:11):
somebody in their corner to help.
We will be here to help.

Speaker 2 (08:14):
Charges of any kind.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
Absolutely.
I do a lot of DUIs, I do a lotof possession of controlled
substances, many property crimes, but really we handle the
gambit at Marcus Law fromanywhere from minor harassments
and petty thefts to seriousarsons, menacings, assaults.
We're here to help anybody ofany level of crime.

Speaker 2 (08:35):
Have you ever thought about doing your own podcast?
You know?

Speaker 3 (08:39):
have you ever thought about doing your own podcast?
You know I've thought aboutdoing my own podcast at some
point about the criminal justicesystem in colorado.
I think that we have done a bitof a disservice to the state by
cutting a lot of resources formental health.
I talked when I was in juviefor a little while.
I talked to a lot of parentsthat had kids that had really
serious mental health issues andthey didn't know what to do.

(09:01):
I think marijuana legalizationis a good thing.
I do think, however, it cansometimes create issues with a
little bit of, you know,overconsumption with minors, and
we see in Colorado and ifyou're in Colorado, you know
this that there's a lot ofmental health issues.
There's issues withhomelessness, there's issues

(09:24):
with stability.
A lot of those are rooted inmental health.
Summit Stone has struggled withstaffing.
Some of the local agencies.
The mental health institutionin Colorado has struggled with
staffing, and we need to dobetter, I think, as a community
to create more resources to helppeople that are mentally ill.
You know, a long time ago, wehad asylums and we took them
away because they were barbaric,which was the right thing to do

(09:44):
, but we didn't fill that gapand we need to fill that gap.
We need to have a better way ofgetting people help with mental
illness, because if you've beenaround Denver in certain areas,
if you've been around even FortCollins in certain areas, you've
run into encounters with, youknow, mentally ill people, maybe
transient people or homelesspeople that are struggling with
mental illness.
That might make you feel scaredor uncomfortable, and people

(10:07):
shouldn't have to experiencethat.
The police shouldn't have todeal with that.
The police are not people thatare social workers.
They're not people that youknow have a lot of experience
with mental health issues.
And, frankly, I watch thesebody cams sometimes and I
actually do feel bad for a lotof the police officers for the
degree to which they have tobecome that.
They have to become people thatare trained and experienced

(10:28):
with dealing with people inreally serious mental health
issues and with really seriousmental health crises.
And so, funny enough, I've kindof toyed with the idea of doing
a podcast with some of my otherfriends that are criminal
defense attorneys, just to speakto the fact that there really
are these structural issues thatwe could do better on as a
community and as a state, and Ithink it would benefit all of us

(10:50):
quite a lot.

Speaker 2 (10:52):
Outside of work.
What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3 (10:55):
So I do a lot of reading.
I have kids, which is greatLove them.
They do take up, I would say, alarge majority of my time
outside of work.
Occasionally I'll find myselfplaying some computer games or
doing some board games with somefriends, but a lot of my time
these days is just spent readingand hanging out with my kids.

Speaker 2 (11:16):
Ryan, please tell us, our listeners one thing that
they should absolutely rememberabout Marcus Law.

Speaker 3 (11:23):
What you should remember about Marcus Law is
that there are people there thatwill help you with compassion,
kindness, consideration for yourbudget and an understanding of
the legal justice system.
If you're scared for yourfuture, if you're scared for
your present, call us.
We are here, we can help, wewill help.

Speaker 2 (11:45):
How can our listeners learn more about Marcus Law
online and by phone?

Speaker 3 (11:50):
If you go to marcuslegalcom, you can find all
of my information on my website.
You can also reach me at970-698-5334, which is my
business number.
We will almost always havesomeone available.
We do free consultations, so ifyou're worried about cost,
don't give us a call.

Speaker 2 (12:10):
Well, Ryan, we really appreciate you being on our
show and we wish you and yourlaw firm the very best moving
forward.

Speaker 3 (12:16):
Thank you, nick, I appreciate the time our show and
we wish you and your law firmthe very best moving forward.

Speaker 1 (12:17):
Thank you, nick, I appreciate the time thank you
for listening to the goodneighbor podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go tognpfortcollinscom.
That's gnpfortcollinscom, orcall 970-438-0825.
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie

Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.

24/7 News: The Latest

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.