A lower court decided that governmental immunity bars an inmate from suing law enforcement in El Paso County to recover his seized property. Now, the Colorado Supreme Court will consider whether or not the law is on his side.

The Court announced on Monday that it will hear an appeal from James Woo, who is serving a life sentence for the 2016 murder of 33-year-old Julie Tureson in Colorado Springs. After his conviction, Woo attempted to recover several items seized as part of his arrest.

He initiated a replevin action, which is used to regain possession of actual property –  documents, jewelry, an iPad, a camera, clothing, cash, credit cards and a computer, in Woo’s case. Woo said they were not part of the evidence at trial, and that the government was wrong to continue its detention of his property.

In September 2020, a three-judge panel of the Colorado Court of Appeals determined the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act barred Woo’s claim against the sheriff and district attorney offices. Governmental immunity stems from the notion that it would disrupt services and unfairly burden taxpayers to have the government defend against legal challenges to its actions.

The panel based its decision on a 1992 ruling from the state Supreme Court, which found the government’s seizure of property is a legitimate exercise of its police powers. Those powers, the Court acknowledged at the time, authorize the government to destroy property without compensation.

The panel also believed the law did not violate Woo’s constitutional rights in taking his property without due process. Woo, the court reasoned, could have sought the return of his possessions through the criminal court – even though “no statute or rule sets out the procedure available” and appellate court rulings have been “divided over whether a criminal court retains jurisdiction” in the first place, Judge Anthony J. Navarro conceded in the panel’s opinion.

Navarro added that Woo could also have sought the return of his property before he was sentenced, if not now.

“That this remedy might not be perpetual does not mean that it is constitutionally inadequate,” Navarro wrote.

The Supreme Court will examine whether the appellate panel was correct that it is not a constitutional violation for the governmental immunity law to block Woo’s legal action to recover his property.

The case is Woo v. El Paso County Sheriff’s Office et al.