Tag: justice monica marquez
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Colorado justices consider whether man can be convicted for convincing mom to lie for him
There was no dispute that Michael Thomas Hupke asked his mother to lie to his parole officer on his behalf. Further, Hupke acknowledged Mesa County prosecutors could have charged him as an accomplice to his mother’s deceit, or for soliciting her to do it. But Hupke maintained prosecutors could not do what they actually did:…
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‘Literally dangerous’: Colorado’s chief justice speaks about dangers to judiciary from threats, rhetoric
Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez told an audience of lawyers and judges on Wednesday that “any action” that inappropriately fosters distrust in the judiciary is a threat to judges and to democracy itself. “I want to be very clear that criticism of our work and our decisions — that comes with the territory. If you…
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Colorado judicial conference features legal, security updates and appearance by ex-Cabinet secretary
The annual conference for Colorado’s judicial branch featured legal updates, trainings and an appearance by former U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, revolving around the theme of “Justice for All: Judging with Integrity in a Divided Climate.” “We make a point of making sure that when we have attorneys teaching these classes, we have attorneys…
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Colorado justices deliver favorable ruling for organizations raising open meetings violations
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that organizations are entitled to the same recovery of their costs as individuals when they successfully pursue a public entity’s violation of the state’s open meetings law. The Colorado Open Meetings Law permits “any person” to challenge a violation of the law. At the same time, it grants…
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Divided Colorado Supreme Court says defendants liable for possessing others’ debit cards even if unusable
The Colorado Supreme Court, by 5-2, rejected the idea on Monday that prosecutors need to prove a debit card is functional in order to convict a defendant of unlawfully possessing someone else’s “financial device.” The majority believed Colorado law was straightforward: Legislators outlawed the unauthorized possession of a financial device, and debit cards were specifically…
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Denver judge exceeded his authority in ‘several ways’ in juvenile defendant’s case, state Supreme Court says
The Colorado Supreme Court ordered a Denver judge on Friday to eliminate several of the restrictions he unreasonably placed on a juvenile defendant’s ability to argue that he should not be tried as an adult for his offenses. Lawyers for Clayshjon Eugene Clark-Collins sought the Supreme Court’s intervention after District Court Judge Eric M. Johnson indicated…
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Colorado Senate passes bill to create 15 new judgeships
The Colorado Senate approved legislation on Wednesday that would add 15 new judgeships over the next two years, a scaled-back version of the original proposal for 29 additional judge seats across the state. Senate Bill 24 passed by a vote of 26-7, with all Democrats who were present voting in favor and all no votes coming from…
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Colorado Supreme Court tells Weld County to follow state redistricting law
Weld County must comply with the state law governing how boards of county commissioners are to draw their districts, and the county needs to adopt new maps by next year’s election, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. Following the 2020 census, it was undisputed that Weld County did not follow the procedures for how…
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Colorado’s chief justice participates in mental health discussion at CU Law
Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez spoke about mental health and wellness in the legal profession on Wednesday, stressing the importance of seeking help starting in law school. “Thirty years ago when I went to law school, none of that existed. We weren’t having these conversations,” she said at the University of Colorado’s law school in…
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Colorado Senate committee advances scaled-back bill to add judgeships, with more cuts looming
Colorado’s Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill to create roughly two dozen new judgeships by a vote of 5-2 on Friday, in a slightly scaled-back effort to address high judicial workloads in many areas of the state. However, with the legislation now heading to the full Senate, one of its sponsors intends to propose cutting…