Tag: judge matthew grove
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Divided appeals court finds no prosecutorial misconduct in prison assault case
Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last week that a Lincoln County prosecutor did not misstate the law to a degree that undermined a jury’s assault verdict against the defendant. During closing arguments in Phillip Archuleta’s 2023 trial, the prosecutor suggested to jurors that Archuleta did not have to make contact with a corrections officer during a…
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Colorado justices accept appeals on Netflix taxation, children pursuing neglect cases
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will decide whether Netflix subscriptions are subject to the state’s sales tax as “tangible personal property.” At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear an appeal. The justices also accepted cases that question whether a minor’s legal representative can pursue an appeal…
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Appeals judge urges restraint in labeling new offenses serious across board
A member of the state’s second-highest court urged his colleagues on Thursday to pump the brakes before declaring new offenses “grave or serious” in every possible scenario. The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment means sentences cannot be grossly disproportionate to the crime. Consequently, when judges in Colorado examine the constitutionality of a…
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Appeals court reinstates felony charge, reverses Denver judge’s sanction on prosecution
Colorado’s second-highest court ordered a Denver judge on Thursday to reinstate a defendant’s felony charge, finding she improperly reduced the severity as a sanction for an officer’s deletion of his body-worn camera footage. Prosecutors charged Russell K. Barnes with vehicular eluding, after police attempted to stop a Toyota 4Runner registered to Barnes but discontinued their…
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Appeals court rules civil trial over Kendrick Castillo’s death not required if STEM School pays max damages
Colorado’s second-highest court determined on Thursday that a civil trial over the 2019 shooting death of Kendrick Castillo is not required after the defendant agreed to pay the maximum damages available to Castillo’s parents, without admitting liability. John and Maria Castillo, the parents of Kendrick, sued STEM School Highlands Ranch in 2021, two years after…
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Appeals court rules Denver ordinance’s constitutionality has no bearing on lawfulness of arrest
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that regardless of whether a plaintiff could later show Denver’s ordinance was unconstitutional, arresting officers were acting with probable cause at the time and could not be held liable. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals pointed to a 1979 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that indicated…
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Colorado Supreme Court clarifies path for proving insurers’ unreasonable delay of benefits
The Colorado Supreme Court delivered a decision with mixed benefits to insurance companies and policyholders on Monday, ruling that insurers’ internal evaluations of claims cannot be used to prove how much they owe a plaintiff, but companies also cannot hide behind ambiguity to delay paying certain types of damages. Under state law, insurers cannot unreasonably…
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Appeals court reverses termination of father’s parental rights after finding treatment plan impossible to comply with
Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned a Jefferson County judge’s decision that terminated a man’s legal relationship with his children, concluding it was impossible for him to fulfill the terms of his treatment plan. Jeffco initiated child neglect proceedings in September 2022 against a mother, a father identified as J.T.Q., and their four children. The…
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Colorado justices wary of upending process for settling insurance claims of injured parties
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court seemed hesitant last month to find that insurance companies act unreasonably if they do not immediately pay an injured claimant the minimum amount the insurer’s internal analysis has calculated. Under state law, insurers cannot unreasonably delay or deny payment on a claim. The Supreme Court, in a 2018 decision, previously…
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Prosecutorial misconduct, error-prone judge’s decision prompt appeals court to overturn homicide conviction
Misconduct by two prosecutors and a Douglas County judge’s decision to bar crucial testimony prompted Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday to reverse a woman’s vehicular homicide conviction. Jurors convicted Jennifer Lea Woodruff of killing her coworker, Christopher Roberts, in a car accident along Interstate 25. The defense’s theory was that Woodruff’s medical condition caused her…