Joel Maguire appealed a $441,724.64 judgment entered against his client for failure to pay a $300,000 promissory note. The note had been signed by the client in part to settle personal injury claims against his wife arising from a physical altercation with the noteholder. That altercation had resulted in the filing of criminal charges against the wife. Part of the consideration for the note was the noteholder’s letter to the district attorney, asking that the wife receive a deferred sentence. On September 24, 2015, the Colorado Court of Appeals reversed the judgment. It held that an agreement in which money or other valuable consideration is paid in exchange for a crime victim’s efforts to obtain leniency in connection with a criminal charge is void as against Colorado public policy. The Court ordered that the action be dismissed.