Tag: attorney-client privilege
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Colorado Supreme Court intervenes in second Weld County case after botched cell phone search
The Colorado Supreme Court stepped in to do damage control this month in a second Weld County criminal case, following a trial judge’s failure to contain the fallout from a botched cell phone search. Marquise Shadell Daniels and Laura Tellers separately have sought the Supreme Court’s intervention after more than 120 confidential attorney-client communications fell…
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Colorado justices to Denver judge: Take another shot at answering confidentiality question
The Colorado Supreme Court returned an appeal to a trial judge last week, telling her to redo her ruling allowing for the disclosure of potentially confidential documents after she acknowledged she used the wrong standard the first time. In the underlying case, Hill Hotel Owner, LLC constructed a 189-room hotel in Boulder, which opened this year.…
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‘Half-baked,’ ‘wild outlier’: Colorado justices mull jettisoning insurance documents appeal
After a trial judge took the rare step of admitting she used the wrong legal standard when ordering the disclosure of documents in an insurance dispute, the Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday wondered whether it would be overstepping by issuing guidance in the appeal. “This feels half-baked to me,” said Justice Carlos A. Samour Jr.…
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‘Uncharted territory’: Colorado Supreme Court wades into murder case involving wrongly disclosed files
The Colorado Supreme Court signaled last week that it may intervene in a Weld County murder case in which a trial judge has struggled to contain the accidental release of confidential defense documents to the prosecution. Marquise Shadell Daniels stands accused of murdering Blaire McQueen in December 2020. In an unusual twist, an investigator for the defense,…
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Colorado justices agree Jeffco judge wrongly ordered disclosure of confidential communications
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday concluded a Jefferson County judge went too far when she ordered a group of plaintiffs alleging injuries from toxic chemical exposure to disclose communications with their attorneys to the opposing side. Justice Richard L. Gabriel, writing in the June 10 opinion, agreed the facts of the plaintiffs’ exposure were not…
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Colorado Supreme Court returns 3 cases to trial courts with instructions
The Colorado Supreme Court decided three appeals this month in ongoing civil and criminal cases, either overturning trial judges’ faulty decisions or providing clarification for further proceedings. Although most of the Supreme Court’s decisions come at the conclusion of a case and after the Court of Appeals has rendered its ruling, the justices sometimes elect…
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Colorado Supreme Court to review limits on negligence claims in case over Denver restaurant fire
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will review whether a judicially created rule barring certain types of negligence claims applies when a defendant acts recklessly to cause an injury. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take up an appeal. The justices also signaled they may intervene in…