About the Attorney

Benjamin R. LaBranche has been a criminal defense lawyer and advocate for criminal justice reform since 2004.  He is licensed to practice law in Colorado, Louisiana, and Texas.  Since 2020, Ben has been based in Colorado representing clients accused of various crimes in state and federal court.  He also speaks Spanish and has represented many Spanish speaking clients throughout his career. 

Ben was inspired to attend law school by his father who was also an attorney and practiced law for over 40 years.  Ben was a Louisiana State Public Defender from 2004 to 2009 before opening up his private law practice and growing it into one of the top-rated firms in the state.  As Louisiana is known for being the incarceration capital of the world due to its very harsh sentencing laws, Ben was often representing clients in high stakes cases where his clients faced mandatory life sentences if convicted.  His experience as an attorney in Louisiana has been very valuable to his transition to defending clients in Colorado. 

During his tenure as a defense attorney, Ben has obtained numerous acquittals for clients charged with drug distribution, firearm offenses, sex assaults, crimes of violence, and DUI/DWI charges.  He has also helped many clients avoid life sentences by obtaining dismissal, acquittals, or negotiating pleas to lesser offenses.  Additionally, Ben has litigated police misconduct issues that have resulted in excluding evidence obtained from illegal searches and excluding illegally obtained confessions and statements.  One such challenge was in a multi-codefendant federal drug conspiracy where Ben excluded 6,000 methamphetamine pills and two guns that were obtained during an illegal traffic stop.  He also obtained a complete dismissal of all charges in federal court against a client who was considered an armed career criminal after alleging police misconduct related to the handling of a confidential informant in the case.

While practicing in Louisiana, Ben also volunteered his services for the New Orleans Innocence Project (IPNO) representing innocent clients who obtained new charges while wrongfully incarcerated and representing witnesses who had evidence of actual innocence for individuals who were wrongfully imprisoned.  He was also a program instructor for the Innocence Project Joint Training Program for Public Defenders and Prosecutors.

After moving to Colorado, Ben worked for the Colorado State Public Defender’s Office in Adams County handling felony cases from arrest to trial.  In 2022, he reentered private practice and became a member of the Criminal Justice Act Panel for the District of Colorado.  As a CJA Panel member, Ben represents individuals charged with all matter of crimes in federal court.  Ben also accepts appointments in Boulder Municipal Court representing homeless clients against criminal charges and assisting them in finding housing and other services.

In 2022, Ben was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar (CCDB).  He has also served as a Board Member for other criminal defense organizations including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (LACDL).  He is also a former president of the Baton Rouge Bar of Criminal Justice (BRBCJ), a member of the National Criminal Defense College, and is a founding member of the DUI Defense Lawyers Association (DUIDLA). 

In his free time, Ben likes to attend legal seminars that focus on criminal defense topics.  He has also organized criminal defense seminars and given lectures on various topics including Trial Skills, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Evidence, DUI/DWI, Expungements, and Ethics.