Pete began his legal career at the Boulder County (Colorado) District Attorney’s Office in 1978. After prosecuting misdemeanors in county court for two years and felonies in district court Pete was promoted to the position of Chief Deputy District Attorney in 1985. In addition to prosecuting some of the highest profile, challenging and serious cases in Boulder County, including complex homicides and multiple defendant cases, Pete developed a special expertise in grand jury matters at both the state and local level. In 2001 Pete was promoted to the position of Boulder County’s First Assistant District Attorney.

Pete has served on the executive board for Boulder’s County Juvenile I.M.P.A.C.T. program, been a member of the Boulder County Community Correction Board and has been involved in the planning and implementation process for community initiatives involving domestic violence and drug treatment courts. In 2009 Pete assisted the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and the Conference of Western Attorneys General in developing a pilot program to train prosecutors from the state of Baja, Mexico.

Since January 2009 Pete has been in private practice as a criminal defense attorney. In November 2013 Pete joined Mertes Law with a continued commitment to providing those accused of crimes with a vigorous and effective criminal defense.