Tag: court of appeals
-
Colorado justices, 5-2, say police money used for drug deals not subject to crime victim restitution
The Colorado Supreme Court, by 5-2, ruled on Monday that the state’s crime victim restitution law does not obligate defendants to repay law enforcement agencies for unrecovered money they use to buy drugs undercover. The government maintained the restitution law authorized the repayment of “buy money” because it was either “money advanced by law enforcement…
-
Colorado Supreme Court walks back decision allowing local governments to broadly permit violations of state noise limits
The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday that the state’s noise pollution law does not allow local governments to categorically permit any entity to host events on private property that exceed the statewide decibel limits. The question had divided the state’s Court of Appeals, with one appellate panel deciding localities do have broad permitting power…
-
Judges speak about mentorship and bench trials, federal court revises jury selection protocol | COURT CRAWL
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. Colorado’s judges spoke to lawyers about mentorship and how to approach bench trials, plus the federal trial court made revisions to its plan for randomly selecting jurors across the state. Heard on appeal • The Colorado Supreme Court will decide whether…
-
Appeals court clarifies evidence safeguards apply to child welfare caseworkers
Colorado’s second-highest court clarified on Thursday that caseworkers testifying as experts in child neglect cases are subject to the same safeguards for reliability that other “specialized knowledge” testimony must satisfy. Under the rules of evidence, judges can deem a witness an expert by virtue of their knowledge, skills, experience, training or education. After being qualified,…
-
Appeals court overturns orders by Arapahoe County magistrate who did not ‘recall this case’
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday overturned a series of orders from a divorce case where an Arapahoe County magistrate admitted he did not recall what was going on but proceeded to rule anyway. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel noted the procedural rules require judges and magistrates to specifically state their findings of facts and…
-
Appeals judge urges Colorado Supreme Court to analyze alimony obligations after spouses’ remarriage
A member of Colorado’s second-highest court urged the state Supreme Court on Thursday to address a question that has produced inconsistent answers over five decades: When divorcing spouses agree that one must pay the other alimony, do they need to explicitly mention what will happen if the receiving spouse gets remarried? The purpose of alimony,…
-
Appeals court calls out Denver judge for illogical denial of sentence reduction
A Denver judge wrongly rejected a convicted defendant’s request for a sentence reduction because his stated reasons for denying the motion could not possibly have been true, Colorado’s second-highest court concluded on Thursday. Jurors convicted Brent M. Kelley in 2018 of second-degree murder and a drug offense. He received a 47-year prison sentence. After appealing…
-
Appeals court finds no discrimination in dismissals of jurors of color across 3 cases
Colorado’s second-highest court recently agreed prosecutors did not unconstitutionally remove jurors of color in three criminal cases for racial reasons. The Court of Appeals encountered significant variation in how the trial judges approached the prosecution’s dismissal of each juror. One judge explained the circumstances at length, one judge gave virtually no explanation and the third…
-
Judicial recusals on Colorado’s federal trial court, state Supreme Court examines family law system | COURT CRAWL
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. Colorado’s federal judges recused themselves from cases more than 200 times in four years, plus one of the state’s justices indicated the Colorado Supreme Court is looking at ways to improve the family law system. Heard on appeal • The Colorado…
-
Colorado Supreme Court to hear 2 Denver criminal appeals
The justices may also intervene in an ongoing criminal case to determine if the defendant is entitled to a fifth competency evaluation