Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. Find highlights of the major court decisions, announcements of vacancies and appointments and other intriguing news about the legal system.

Help wanted: Federal judge

> Colorado’s two U.S. senators are looking to fill an upcoming vacancy on the seven-member federal trial court located in Denver. Interested parties should download their applications on the senators’ websites, after which an 11-member advisory committee will screen and interview candidates.

> Meanwhile, according to NBC News, the White House is preparing to announce its first judicial nominees, more than two months after President Joe Biden took office. While the Trump administration assiduously filled court vacancies, one seat on Colorado’s federal trial court has been open for two years. Colorado’s senators have already made Biden aware of their preferred candidate.

Decisions, decisions

> Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upheld the deportation of a university student from Ghana because he did not maintain a full course load. What was he doing instead of going to class? Sitting in jail for a crime he was later acquitted of.

> A former Adams County judge with a history of poor temperament humiliated a defense lawyer during trial, to the point where the Court of Appeals reversed his client’s convictions.

> If the state legislature or the parties in a court case call you to testify, good news! Your employer cannot retaliate against you for speaking, the Court of Appeals ruled.

Supreme consideration

> Colorado’s three-decade-old “make my day” law allows people in dwellings to use lethal force against intruders in certain circumstances. The Colorado Supreme Court will decide whether the basement of an apartment building is included in a “dwelling.”

• “The legislature meant to give people in their homes broad authority to kill,” University of Colorado law professor Aya Gruber told Colorado Politics. The “make my day” law is related to the controversial “stand your ground” policy that more broadly authorizes deadly force in the name of self-defense.

> How far do counties and trial court judges have to go in custody cases to comply with a 1978 law that protects Indigenous children? The justices heard oral arguments about what to do when a child is eligible for tribal nation membership. Here’s what’s at stake: Congress passed the Indian Child Welfare Act after finding that Indigenous children were being removed from their homes at high rates (partly for the purpose of “civilizing Indians“) and moved to give tribes greater say in custody hearings for children who are, or are eligible for, tribal citizenship.

• From Justice Richard L. Gabriel: The law “would suggest there is some obligation on behalf of the government to assist a child who’s eligible.”
• From Justice Richard L. Gabriel, a little later: “Why shouldn’t we just say, ‘under the law, once we have a statement they are not Indian children, the [county] department’s obligation is over?'”

Vacancies and appointments

> As of Monday, there are four state judicial vacancies with application periods open until April.

• 10th Judicial District (Pueblo County) district court judge – apply by April 7
• 10th Judicial District (Pueblo County) county court judge – apply by April 7
• Fourth Judicial District (El Paso County) county court judge – apply by April 5
• 20th Judicial District (Boulder County) district court judge – apply by April 9

> Also, welcome Dea Marie Lindsey, whom Gov. Jared Polis appointed last week in the 20th Judicial District as a district court judge. She will replace Andrew R. Macdonald after April 1. 

> The governor is currently weighing an appointment for a vacancy on the Broomfield County court, and the finalists are Amanda DeWick, Trevor Moritzky and Jacque Lyn Russell.

Interview with a history-making justice

> Make sure to read this week’s Q&A with former Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey, the longest-serving and first female chief justice of the state Supreme Court. She discussed the differences between the legal profession for women now versus 50 years ago, and also criticized the Supreme Court’s new system of rotating the chief justice seat.

In other news

> From our news partner, the Denver Gazette: The Court of Appeals upheld the demotion of a Denver sheriff’s employee for giving preferential treatment to the granddaughter of former Mayor Wellington Webb during her intake.