A closer look at the attorneys in the Tina Peters trial Western Colorado

Robert Shapiro

Shapiro, not to be confused with the defense attorney who worked on the OJ Simpson case in 1995, is the First Assistant Attorney General for Special Prosecutions in the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. Shapiro is prosecuting the case as a special deputy district attorney for the 21st Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

Shapiro started with the attorney general’s office in 2007 after working as a prosecutor in Boulder County. He has a previous connection to the area, when he was a Mesa County prosecutor in 1996 and 1997.

He also worked as an intelligence officer for the US Army for four years, according to his bio with the Colorado Bar Association, which included postings in Panama, Europe and the US

Janet Drake

Drake, who is also operating as a special deputy district attorney for the 21st Judicial District Attorney’s Office in prosecuting the case, is the Deputy Attorney General for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.

Drake was promoted to that position in 2019 after almost 13 years as a senior assistant attorney general, according to her LinkedIn page. She manages the Special Prosecutions Unit, the Financial Fraud Unit, the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Police Officer Standards and Training (POST), according to the National Association of Attorneys General.

A special prosecutor is a prosecutor outside an office that would normally handle a case. They are appointed to avoid potential conflicts of interest or demonstrate specific subject matter expertise, according to the Cornell University Law School.

Dan Rubinstein

Rubinstein, who has not interviewed any witnesses during the trial, but has been sitting at the prosecution table, has been the District Attorney for the 21st Judicial District, which encompasses Mesa County, since 2015.

Rubinstein has been with the 21st Judicial District Attorney’s Office since 1996, minus a stint from 2002 to 2005 when he was in private practice.

DEFENSES

Michael Edminster

Edminster, of Carbondale, was hired by Peters after she fired her two previous attorneys, Douglas Richards and Madalia Maaliki, in February, causing a delay in the trial.

John Case

Case, of Denver, graduated from the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law in 1973, and served as a bomber navigator in Vietnam.

According to his website, Case “represents citizens petitioning for integrity in the Colorado election system.”

Dan Hartman

As of January 20, 2024, Hartman was the general counsel for the Michigan Republican Party.

Hartman also represents Michigan attorney Stefanie Lambert, who is accused of similar charges to Peters after she was alleged to have allowed an unauthorized person to access voter data related to the 2020 election.

Amy Jones

Jones is a former administrative judge in Summit County, Ohio. She stepped down from the bench in August 2022 after almost 10 years as a judge. She is now in private practice.