Tag: judge anthony navarro
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Colorado Supreme Court rules technical oversight does not imperil Denver murder conviction
The Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday that no specific procedure is required to designate a witness as an expert at trial, and the fact that a trial judge neglected to do so in front of the jury did not warrant reversal of a man’s murder conviction. Denver jurors convicted Pete Paul Martinez of stabbing 77-year-old Lewis Easterday to…
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Appeals court finds flaws with restitution orders in 2 criminal cases
Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned multiple orders, in whole or in part, for criminal defendants to pay financial restitution to their victims. In the first case out of Arapahoe County, Aron Sanchez was charged for two sets of crimes. He was accused of breaking into a vehicle to steal a stereo, after which his…
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Technical oversight or key error? Colorado justices weigh reversal of Denver murder conviction
The Colorado Supreme Court appeared doubtful on Tuesday that the failure to formally designate a witness as an expert in front of the jury rose to the level of mistake that would require a new murder trial for the defendant. Denver jurors convicted Pete Paul Martinez of stabbing 77-year-old Lewis Easterday to death near Cheesman Park in 2016. Martinez…
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Appeals court agrees DA can sue Huerfano County sheriff over chronic mishandling of evidence
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that an elected district attorney was justified in suing the Huerfano County sheriff over persistent problems in evidence handling that compromised numerous prosecutions. Last year, Third Judicial District Attorney Henry Solano obtained a permanent injunction against longtime Sheriff Bruce Newman, in which a trial judge ordered Newman to hand…
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Colorado AG’s office scolded by appeals court for belated shift in argument
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office received a rebuke from the state’s second-highest court on Thursday after it asked a panel of appellate judges to reverse course on a recent decision with an argument it never raised previously. Under the state’s appellate rules, a party may submit a petition for rehearing to the Court of Appeals…
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Assault, murder convictions reversed in 2 cases for judges’ errors
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday reversed two sets of criminal convictions because trial judges gave improper instructions to jurors or incorrectly allowed damaging evidence to be heard. In the first case out of Jefferson County, jurors convicted Clinton Eugene Priest of murdering and assaulting Robert Miller after the two men got into a physical confrontation outside…
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Boulder man’s attempted sex assault convictions overturned due to detectives’ actions
A Boulder man will receive a new trial after Colorado’s second-highest court determined last month that a pair of detectives improperly detained and interrogated him about an attempted sex assault instead of simply collecting his DNA as a court authorized them to do. Angel Adrian Castro-Velasquez is serving 18 years to life in prison on…
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Appeals court rules developer may bring ballot initiative to rezone Telluride neighborhood
Colorado’s second-highest court on Wednesday clarified that a developer may bring a ballot initiative in Telluride to rezone part of a planned-unit development for affordable housing despite other lot owners’ objections. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals stressed that the question of whether the zoning change infringes on the rights of homeowners in…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear cases on open records, illegal sentencing, insurance dispute
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday it will hear appeals in multiple cases, including the question of whether the public may access information about law enforcement officers who have been decertified for misconduct. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to review an appeal. Among the cases granted, the justices took…
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Colorado justices agree Jeffco not immune from parking garage slip-and-fall suit
The Colorado Supreme Court agreed on Monday that a parking garage owned by Jefferson County qualified as a “public building” and a resurfacing project that created a hazard amounted to “maintenance,” which, in combination, meant the county is not immune from liability for a woman’s slip-and-fall. The case implicated the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act, which…