Tag: supreme court
-
High court seems to lean toward Colorado Springs counselor’s argument
WASHINGTON — A majority of Supreme Court justices on Tuesday seemed likely to side with a Christian counselor from Colorado Springs challenging bans on LGBTQ+ “conversion therapy” for kids as a violation of her First Amendment rights. Kaley Chiles, with support from President Donald Trump’s administration, argues the laws passed by about half of U.S. states wrongly bar her from offering…
-
Judicial recusals on Colorado’s federal trial court, state Supreme Court examines family law system | COURT CRAWL
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. Colorado’s federal judges recused themselves from cases more than 200 times in four years, plus one of the state’s justices indicated the Colorado Supreme Court is looking at ways to improve the family law system. Heard on appeal • The Colorado…
-
Colorado AG’s office scolded by appeals court for belated shift in argument
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office received a rebuke from the state’s second-highest court on Thursday after it asked a panel of appellate judges to reverse course on a recent decision with an argument it never raised previously. Under the state’s appellate rules, a party may submit a petition for rehearing to the Court of Appeals…
-
Appeals court warns that prosecutor’s comments about her, victims’ race were improper
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday agreed an Arapahoe County prosecutor did not intentionally dismiss a Hispanic juror for race-based reasons, but her attempt to justify the removal by citing her own race and the race of the victims was improper. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals noted the prosecutor, in dismissing the Hispanic…
-
Appeals court acknowledges ‘unfair’ outcome, upholds man’s lifetime sex offender registration
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday upheld a man’s requirement to register as a sex offender for life, while acknowledging state law made no exception for his 37-year-old conviction from outside Colorado that did not even require him to register at the time. Raymond Edward Moore has two convictions on his record for sex offenses: one…
-
Federal judge declines to block Colorado’s ‘ghost gun’ prohibition
A federal judge on Thursday rejected a request from gun rights advocates to block a recent Colorado law prohibiting the possession and transport of certain firearm components not imprinted with a serial number — known as “ghost guns.” To address the proliferation of guns privately assembled from kits or 3-D printers, the General Assembly enacted Senate Bill 279…
-
Appeals court rules juries may have unrestricted access to ‘pretext’ calls between sex assault victims, suspects
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday ruled that trial judges may provide juries with unrestricted access during their deliberations to “pretext” phone calls made by sex assault victims to their alleged perpetrators with a goal of eliciting incriminating statements. The Court of Appeals had never before decided whether pretext calls should be treated like a defendant’s…
-
Federal judge says defendant’s rights not violated by different meaning of ‘pimping’ in ‘Black culture’
A federal judge last week rejected the argument that a defendant should receive a new child sex trafficking trial because his attorney failed to ensure jurors understood “pimping” allegedly meant something different in “Black/African-American culture.” Jalil Lemason Robinson is serving a nearly 16-year sentence after jurors convicted him on two counts related to the attempted…
-
Following SCOTUS decision, judge enters injunction against Colorado in 303 Creative case
Nine months after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision and nearly eight years after she first filed suit in Colorado’s federal trial court, web designer Lorie Smith received an injunction prohibiting the state from compelling her to create wedding websites for same-sex couples. In a March 26 order, U.S. District Court Chief Judge…
-
10th Circuit warns employers against discriminatory DEI programming
The federal appeals court based in Denver sent up a warning flare to employers on Monday that diversity, equity and inclusion efforts can cross the line into illegal workplace discrimination, deeming certain race-conscious programming “troubling” and the product of “ideological messaging.” At the same time, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for…