Tag: judge charlotte sweeney
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Federal judge opens new front in effort to increase magistrate judge handling of civil cases
One of Colorado’s federal judges rang in the new year with a new effort to spread out the U.S. District Court’s civil caseload among its roster of magistrate judges. “NOTICE ENCOURAGING CONSIDERATION OF CONSENT,” Judge S. Kato Crews has written in docket entries across at least nine recently filed civil cases so far. “This district’s…
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Federal judge declines to dismiss claims against prison officials for seizure-related death
A federal judge declined last month to dismiss the claims against numerous prison employees for a man’s in-custody death following several seizures and his repeated ingestion of liquified pain-numbing medication. The mother and minor children of Victor Esquivel sued the state’s corrections director, prison supervisors, corrections officers, medical employees and a medical staffing firm after…
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Federal judge lets ex-Castle Rock employee’s discrimination lawsuit proceed
A federal judge rejected the town of Castle Rock’s effort to dismiss an ex-employee’s age and gender discrimination lawsuit on Wednesday, while deeming the case a close call. Carl E. Filler, who was in his mid-60s when the town hired him as a traffic engineering technician, was employed for only six months between July 2022…
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10th Circuit rejects defendant’s theory for re-sentencing probation violators
The Denver-based federal appeals court rejected a defendant’s theory for re-sentencing people who violate the terms of their probation last month, with one judge defending his precedent-setting framework from possible full-court review. At the same time, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed the trial judge who sentenced…
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10th Circuit upholds financial incentive for lawyers to take on challenges to immigration detention
The Denver-based federal appeals court ruled on Monday that the law allowing attorneys to recover their costs for prevailing against the government does apply to successful legal challenges to immigration detention. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit acknowledged a decision to the contrary would deter legal representation for…
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10th Circuit revives retaliation claim against Jeffco sanitation district
The Denver-based federal appeals court on Monday reinstated an attorney’s retaliation claim against her former employer, a special district based in Lakewood, alleging she was fired for statements she made about board members’ malfeasance. Courts have recognized that public employees’ First Amendment rights are more limited, owing to the need for the government to control…
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Federal judge advances defamation lawsuit from woman called ‘prostitute’ at party
A federal judge on Wednesday declined to dismiss a defamation lawsuit stemming from a 2024 party at which the defendant allegedly called the plaintiff a “prostitute.” Tiffany Mai alleged that during a July 2024 dance at a luxury dude ranch in Granby, attendee Laura Elsaden approached other guests and “began making defamatory, slanderous, and false…
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Judge orders noncitizen released from immigration detention, finds government misapplied law
A federal judge concluded the government was likely wrong to detain a noncitizen without the chance for a release hearing, and ordered him to be let out of immigration custody on Friday. At the same time, U.S. District Court Judge Regina M. Rodriguez declined to green-light Nestor Esai Mendoza Gutierrez’s request to turn his lawsuit…
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10th Circuit, by 2-1, rebuffs industry challenge to Vail’s prohibition on delivery vehicles
The Denver-based federal appeals court concluded on Friday that Vail’s 2023 prohibition on delivery vehicles in pedestrian areas had a sufficient connection to safety and, therefore, a trial judge was wrong to block the town from enforcing its ordinance. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit considered whether an…
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Colorado’s federal judges recused 200+ times in 4 years for variety of reasons
A handful of magistrate judges accounted for a large portion of the recusals