Author: Michael Karlik
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‘A model example’: 10th Circuit OK’s Colorado’s non-discrimination requirement for universal pre-K
The Denver-based federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Colorado’s universal pre-kindergarten program does not violate the rights of religious preschool operators by requiring participating organizations to refrain from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, among other characteristics. Two Catholic institutions, St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton and St. Bernadette Catholic Parish in…
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Federal judge dismisses challenge to prison policy forbidding assistance with certain legal claims
A federal judge on Friday dismissed a formerly incarcerated man’s challenge to Colorado’s prison policy that forbids the use of library resources for the pursuit of certain claims generally deemed frivolous. Robert Wayne Robinson sued the law librarian at the Buena Vista Correctional Facility and the former director of the Colorado Department of Corrections. He…
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Federal judge dismisses challenge to prison policy forbidding assistance with certain legal claims
A federal judge on Friday dismissed a formerly incarcerated man’s challenge to Colorado’s prison policy that forbids the use of library resources for the pursuit of certain claims generally deemed frivolous. Robert Wayne Robinson sued the law librarian at the Buena Vista Correctional Facility and the former director of the Colorado Department of Corrections. He…
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Federal judge dismisses challenge to prison policy forbidding assistance with certain legal claims
A federal judge on Friday dismissed a formerly incarcerated man’s challenge to Colorado’s prison policy that forbids the use of library resources for the pursuit of certain claims generally deemed frivolous. Robert Wayne Robinson sued the law librarian at the Buena Vista Correctional Facility and the former director of the Colorado Department of Corrections. He…
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Colorado justices, 5-2, conclude prior version of ‘3 strikes’ law satisfied Constitution
The state’s highest court ruled on Monday that the version of Colorado’s “three strikes” law that was in effect before this year was constitutionally compliant, notwithstanding a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that prompted the legislature to change how defendants are sentenced. Known as the Habitual Criminal Act, Colorado’s law requires judges to impose three or…
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Appeals judge to Supreme Court: Please endorse a single reasonable doubt definition for Colorado
A member of Colorado’s second-highest court asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday to endorse one definition of “reasonable doubt” for trial judges to use — out of the three versions currently on the table. Colorado’s template jury instructions for criminal trials used to explain reasonable doubt as a doubt, based upon reason and common…
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Appeals judge to Supreme Court: Please endorse a single reasonable doubt definition for Colorado
A member of Colorado’s second-highest court asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday to endorse one definition of “reasonable doubt” for trial judges to use — out of the three versions currently on the table. Colorado’s template jury instructions for criminal trials used to explain reasonable doubt as a doubt, based upon reason and common…
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By 2-1, appeals court OKs restitution despite defendant’s absence
Colorado’s second-highest court, by a 2-1 vote, concluded that an Adams County judge’s order granting crime victim restitution was valid, even though the defendant was absent from a hearing to which he had a constitutional right to attend. The U.S. and Colorado constitutions grant criminal defendants the right to be present at all “critical stages”…
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Appeals court addresses defendant’s request to get property back 3 years after Supreme Court laid out process
Almost three years after the Colorado Supreme Court clarified how a convicted defendant may ask law enforcement to hand over his seized property, the state’s second-highest court found an El Paso County judge wrongly denied the man’s request to return certain items. Jurors convicted James Woo in 2018 for the murder of Julie Tureson in Colorado…
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Appeals court addresses defendant’s request to get property back 3 years after Supreme Court laid out process
Almost three years after the Colorado Supreme Court clarified how a convicted defendant may ask law enforcement to hand over his seized property, the state’s second-highest court found an El Paso County judge wrongly denied the man’s request to return certain items. Jurors convicted James Woo in 2018 for the murder of Julie Tureson in Colorado…