Tag: fair trial
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear cases about ‘reasonable doubt’ definition, contract dispute
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that it will decide whether the definition of “reasonable doubt” adopted in a 2023 revision to the template jury instructions violates the constitutional rights of the criminally accused. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. The justices will also…
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Appeals court reverses sex assault convictions due to juror who was distracted by traumatic event
Colorado’s second-highest court last week reversed a man’s Boulder County sexual assault convictions and ordered a new trial because one juror was distracted after witnessing a fatal accident and missed key portions of testimony. A jury convicted Curtis James DiMarco in 2021 of numerous child sex offenses and he received a sentence of 60 years…
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Colorado justices find Denver judge appropriately subbed in alternate juror mid-deliberations
The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday that a Denver judge did what he needed to do to ensure a defendant received a fair trial after one juror became ill in the middle of deliberations and had to be replaced with the alternate. Ricardo Castro’s jury deliberated for 11 hours total until it recessed on…
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‘Pretty shocking’: Colorado justices review case where defendant’s lawyer was also being prosecuted
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared hesitant last week to endorse automatic reversal of an El Paso County defendant’s convictions because he was seemingly unaware his lawyer was simultaneously being prosecuted by the same district attorney’s office. However, some justices agreed the system failed to adequately protect the rights of Matthew Rodolfo Vansant Lopez from…
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El Paso County domestic violence conviction reversed because of biased juror
Colorado’s second-highest court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of domestic violence-related offenses after acknowledging an unusual scenario in which the trial judge, prosecutor and defense attorney confused one juror for another, and neglected to dismiss the juror they all agreed was biased. An El Paso County jury convicted Cory James Wooldridge in…
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Colorado Supreme Court ponders what to do when substituting alternate jurors mid-deliberation
When one juror in Ricardo Castro’s criminal trial became incapacitated 11 hours into the jury’s deliberations and could not continue, there was broad agreement afterward that the trial judge did everything he could to emphasize the need for remaining jurors to begin anew – with the alternate juror replacing her stricken counterpart. The question now…
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Appeals court rejects new trial after Jeffco judge inadvertantly live streamed comments about case
A Jefferson County judge’s comments about the defendant, accidentally broadcast over a live stream that the judge did not realize was running, do not provide grounds for a new trial, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week. Daniel Boman Olguin stood trial in 2021 for a felony trespassing charge. Due to pandemic precautions, the proceedings were…