Tag: judge charlotte sweeney
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Judge approves injunction for Colorado Springs counselor after SCOTUS rules in conversion therapy case
A federal judge last week blocked Colorado from enforcing its restriction on conversion therapy for LGBTQ children against a Colorado Springs counselor, after both sides agreed that the state will not pursue professional disciplinary action while the case proceeds. The formalization of a preliminary injunction came days after one appellate judge argued that the Denver-based…
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Corrections officials may be sued for employee’s alleged abuse of detainee, federal judge rules
High-level corrections officials may be sued for their own alleged failures to prevent or respond to an employee’s sexual misconduct toward a detainee, a federal judge decided last month. Rajae Bouhamidi was incarcerated at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility. In late 2022, corrections officer Justin Torres allegedly began to sexually harass her. Eventually, he ordered…
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Colorado’s chief federal judge breaks with colleagues on issue of mandatory immigration detention
Chief Judge Daniel D. Domenico broke with his peers on Colorado’s U.S. District Court last week in siding with the government’s argument about the broad scope of its immigration detention authority. In an April 15 order finding that a man was properly in custody without a bond hearing, Domenico acknowledged his view is the outlier…
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Colorado’s federal judges maintain approach to immigration detentions while escalating warnings
Colorado’s federal judges are maintaining their view that the government’s assertion of broad immigration detention authority is unlawful, casting aside a recent appellate decision to the contrary as “unpersuasive” and out of step with the predominant interpretation by the judiciary. However, several judges are speaking out forcefully about the behavior from the government, including missed…
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Federal judge partially allows challenge to proceed against Colorado unclaimed property program
A federal judge allowed some claims to proceed last week against Colorado’s treasurer, based upon alleged constitutional violations flowing from the state’s process for reuniting people with their unclaimed property. Previously, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney dismissed the lawsuit by plaintiffs David Knellinger and Robert Storey, reasoning that they failed to sufficiently allege…
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Colorado’s federal judges slash motions backlog to lowest in years
Colorado’s federal trial judges collectively had 37 motions in civil cases that had been sitting on their dockets for at least six months without a ruling, as of Sept. 30. That is the smallest backlog the state’s U.S. District Court has experienced since September 2017, before many of the current judges were even on the…
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Federal judge green-lights excessive force trial against Fort Collins officers
A federal judge concluded last week that a jury will need to resolve whether two Fort Collins police officers violated a man’s constitutional rights by using excessive force after he refused to accept a citation. In a Jan. 21 order, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney analyzed the severity of plaintiff Andru Kulas’ alleged…
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Federal judge warns DOJ against raising repeatedly rejected arguments in immigration detention cases
A federal judge in Colorado warned the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday against raising arguments that she and other judges have repeatedly rejected in cases challenging the lawfulness of immigration detentions. In a Jan. 26 order finding the government is wrongfully detaining a Cuban national without a bond hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte…
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10th Circuit to address resentencing of probation violators in rare all-judges hearing
The Denver-based federal appeals court agreed on Thursday to hold a rare all-judges hearing to determine the proper procedure for resentencing a criminal defendant who has violated the terms of his probation. In the federal appellate courts, the vast majority of cases are decided in three-judge panels. Occasionally, the courts will vote to have all…
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Elizabeth School District dismisses challenge to book-ban injunction on eve of appellate arguments
An Elbert County school district has dismissed its challenge to a judge’s injunction ordering it to return banned books to library shelves, days before the Denver-based federal appeals court was set to hear oral arguments this week. Although a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit formally dismissed the case…