Tag: colorado supreme court
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Colorado Springs may be sued for faulty intersection, state Supreme Court rules
The Colorado Supreme Court decided last month that Colorado Springs can be sued over a collision that occurred as a result of traffic lights that were functioning normally in one direction, but were inoperative in the perpendicular direction. The question for the Supreme Court was whether the traffic arrangement provided “conflicting” signals to plaintiff Bernard…
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Colorado justices, 4-2, say defendant cannot be retried after judge rejected jury’s partial acquittal
If a jury clearly indicates that it has acquitted a defendant of certain charges while remaining deadlocked on others, judges must accept that partial acquittal verdict, a divided Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. Justice William W. Hood III, in the June 8 majority opinion, acknowledged that judges ordinarily may not ask a deadlocked jury…
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Colorado Supreme Court to decide whether out-of-state defendant may be prosecuted for in-state crime
The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced that it will decide whether Douglas County prosecutors had grounds to pursue criminal charges against a woman in New York whose conduct occurred outside of Colorado. Erin Brennan and her children lived in New York, and her ex-husband moved to Colorado after their divorce. In 2022, she proposed a…
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Colorado Supreme Court to evaluate test for alimony after remarriage
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will evaluate whether divorcing spouses must explicitly agree that alimony payments from one partner to the other will continue after one person remarries, or whether a “clear implication” will suffice. The purpose of alimony, known in Colorado as “spousal maintenance,” is to assist spouses who cannot be financially…
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Children’s Colorado must resume care to transgender plaintiffs, state Supreme Court rules by 5-2
The Colorado Supreme Court, by a 5-2 vote, ordered Children’s Hospital Colorado on Monday to resume providing certain medical services to a group of transgender plaintiffs, which it had ceased in the face of funding threats from the federal government last year. The unusual appeal before the Supreme Court stemmed from a trial judge’s rejection…
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Colorado justices acknowledge judge’s misunderstanding of law in eminent domain case
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared to agree on Tuesday that a Douglas County judge incorrectly believed he lacked the authority to allow a property owner to pursue evidence challenging a government entity’s legal right to take the property through eminent domain. But during oral arguments, multiple justices bristled when an attorney for the…
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Colorado justices decline to say whether man’s child prostitution conviction is unconstitutional
The Colorado Supreme Court declined to say on Monday whether a man’s conviction for an attempted child prostitution offense violated his rights under the state constitution, and only concluded that the absence of an obvious error meant his conviction should remain intact. An El Paso County jury convicted Javier Vega Dominguez of two attempted child…
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Colorado Supreme Court rebuffs DA’s office over evidentiary appeal
The Colorado Supreme Court rebuffed a district attorney’s office on Monday for immediately pursuing an appeal of a trial judge’s evidentiary decision that the court had no authority to hear. State law authorizes prosecutors to file a mid-case, or “interlocutory,” appeal to the Supreme Court when a judge suppresses key evidence from being used in…
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Colorado justices recognize limited right to evidence in postconviction challenges
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that defendants challenging their convictions may, in certain circumstances, be entitled to receive the information the prosecution already handed over for trial at no cost. The justices rejected the argument that defendants seeking postconviction relief must use the open records law specific to criminal justice records, which prosecutors’…
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Colorado justices confirm water-related enterprises may condemn private property
The Colorado Supreme Court confirmed on Monday that water-related enterprises have the legal authority to exercise the governmental power of eminent domain over private property. An enterprise is a government-owned business that provides fee-based services. In 1993, lawmakers authorized the creation of “water activity enterprises” to provide a secure water supply for residents. The enterprises…