Tag: fourth amendment
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Colorado justices find Adams County judge mistakenly barred drug evidence from man’s arrest
An Adams County judge mistakenly concluded that sheriff’s deputies unconstitutionally prolonged a traffic stop, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday, when the facts showed the officers had actually placed the defendant under “full arrest” supported by probable cause. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and there are limits on law enforcement’s ability…
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Colorado Supreme Court rules DUI suspects may revoke consent to blood test, requiring warrant
Suspected drunk drivers do have the ability to revoke their consent to a blood or breath test, meaning police will generally need to get a warrant to measure intoxication levels, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has not explicitly held that states cannot legislate consent for warrantless blood draws…
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10th Circuit: Archuleta sheriff’s officials committed constitutional violation by seizing home for 8 hours
An Archuleta County sheriff’s detective who barred a man and his family from entering their home for nearly eight hours without a warrant committed a constitutional violation that required the eventual evidence of a firearm offense to be thrown out, the federal appeals court based in Denver ruled on Tuesday. Although Corban Josiah Elmore cooperated…
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10th Circuit agrees Aurora officer unconstitutionally detained man
The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed last week that an Aurora officer unreasonably detained a Black man who looked nothing like what a 911 caller reported, resulting in a constitutional violation that required evidence of a firearm offense to be thrown out. Officer William Idler approached Lyndell Daniels in the parking lot of…
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10th Circuit upholds Denver man’s convictions despite constitutional challenge
Even though the search warrant for 836 N. Linley Court did not mention a detached garage and the prosecution conceded the garage was not included in the search warrant, the federal appeals court based in Colorado nonetheless agreed last month that Denver police lawfully entered the building and detained the man sleeping inside. The Fourth…
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Federal judge bars gun evidence in criminal case due to Denver police’s unconstitutional search
A federal judge last week barred the government from using evidence from a man’s backpack in his prosecution for illegally possessing a weapon, following a Denver police officer’s unconstitutional search. The Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures requires that law enforcement obtain a warrant or rely on a specific exception to the warrant…
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Federal judge green-lights jury trial against Denver, officers for response during 2020 protests
A federal judge agreed last month that a jury will decide whether two Denver officers and the city itself should be liable for excessive force, First Amendment violations and other infringements on a man’s constitutional rights during the 2020 protests. After a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd in May 2020, international demonstrations erupted, including in…
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Federal judge grants immunity to Fountain officers for detaining man, entering home without warrant
A federal judge last month threw out a Fountain man’s claims that police officers acted unconstitutionally when they responded to his home for a welfare check, only to restrain him and enter the house without a warrant. Kyle A. Fisher alleged three officers were unjustified in investigating his children’s wellbeing, and he assumed their visit…
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Federal judge bars government from using seized narcotics in drug trafficking case
A federal judge last month barred the government from using more than two dozen pounds of narcotics seized from a vehicle as evidence against the defendants because a Colorado state trooper violated the prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. When Trooper Joshua St. Onge pulled over Ezequiel Pita-Chavolla and Manuel Pacheco for a traffic infraction,…
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Colorado justices weigh DUI suspects’ right to refuse blood draw
The Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures means law enforcement must obtain a warrant or else rely on a specific exception to the warrant requirement, like the consent of the person being searched, to investigate a crime. But can Colorado law provide blanket consent for police to draw the blood of alleged drunk…