Tag: speedy trial
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Colorado justices sympathetic to defendant’s claim of speedy trial violation
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared sympathetic on Wednesday to the argument that an El Paso County prosecutor made an unjustified decision to file a mid-case appeal, pushing the trial beyond the legal deadline and requiring dismissal of the charges. The Supreme Court originally took an interest in Khristina Phillips’ ongoing misdemeanor prosecution in…
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Appeals court clarifies criteria for extending juvenile speedy trial deadline
Colorado’s second-highest court clarified for the first time earlier this month that the same criteria used to extend an adult criminal defendant’s speedy trial deadline also apply to juveniles. The federal and state constitutions guarantee the right to a speedy trial. In Colorado, that means the government generally must bring defendants to trial within six…
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Eagle County judge’s mistake prompts appeals court to overturn sex assault convictions
An Eagle County judge neglected to declare a mistrial when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a postponement of the defendant’s trial date, pushing the proceedings outside of the speedy trial deadline and prompting Colorado’s second-highest court to overturn the convictions. The federal and state constitutions guarantee defendants the right to a speedy trial. In Colorado, that…
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Boulder County judge wasn’t obligated to bail out self-represented defendant, appeals court rules
Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last month that a criminal defendant in Boulder County was not unfairly forced to choose between his rights to a speedy trial and to an attorney, and, when he elected to go without an attorney, the trial judge was not obligated to save him from his own poor performance. Jurors convicted Timothy…