Tag: justice richard gabriel
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Colorado Supreme Court committee debates tenant-friendly eviction proposal
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court’s civil rules committee vigorously debated a proposed rule change last month that would make it easier for tenants facing eviction to respond to and learn about their landlord’s initial court filing. As drafted, the disputed provision would require that a case number be assigned to a landlord’s complaint before…
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Colorado judges explore professionalism, ethics, AI in discussions with lawyers
Members of Colorado’s state and federal judiciary held a series of discussions with lawyers on Friday that touched on attorneys’ ethical obligations, the responsible use of artificial intelligence and generational differences in the legal profession. “The world has changed very dramatically since we started practicing. It’s much more competitive,” said Justice Richard L. Gabriel. The…
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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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Colorado Supreme Court walks back decision allowing local governments to broadly permit violations of state noise limits
The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday that the state’s noise pollution law does not allow local governments to categorically permit any entity to host events on private property that exceed the statewide decibel limits. The question had divided the state’s Court of Appeals, with one appellate panel deciding localities do have broad permitting power…
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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 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 justices weigh calculation of damages to victims of medical malpractice
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court considered on Tuesday whether a decades-old limitation on medical malpractice awards also creates an absolute restriction on the interest that injured plaintiffs can receive when they prevail at trial. The question affects the balance between fairly compensating people who suffer severe or lifelong injuries from medical negligence, on the…
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Colorado justices debate what to do with medical records of driver following fatal Custer County crash
The Colorado Supreme Court waded into a contentious dispute on Wednesday about how trial judges should decide whether a litigant’s medical records are confidential and what to do with other evidence that spawns from the private information. Complicating matters, many details about the appeal are shielded from public view due to the debate over confidentiality.…
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Colorado justices consider 33-year-old analogy’s impact on community corrections sentences
The Colorado Supreme Court pondered an unusual question on Wednesday: When a previous decision relied on an analogy, but the circumstances of the analogy have since changed, is the prior decision still valid? Ryan Wallace Bonde’s appeal to the Supreme Court explores whether Bonde’s time in non-residential community corrections can be deducted from the prison…
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Colorado Supreme Court hears plea to open up path for construction defects lawsuits
For decades, the Colorado Supreme Court has recognized that some civil liability claims like negligence are meant to protect all citizens from harm without the need for an agreement or contract. On the other hand, parties can enter into contracts and litigate breach of contract lawsuits when someone fails to respect the bargain. To reinforce…