Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government.

A pair of lawsuits — one at the state level and the other at the federal — seeking to hold entities liable for police excessive force fizzled out in court, while a state legislative committee issued preliminary recommendations for reforming the way judges are disciplined for misconduct.

Police accountability

•  Following the 2020 police murder of George Floyd, racial justice protestors took to the streets across Colorado and the world. Within weeks of Floyd’s death, state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 217, which enacted multiple police accountability measures, including the ability to sue individual officers for violations of state constitutional rights. However, the law was silent about whether people could also sue cities and counties for their role in the constitutional violations committed by their employees.

•  Last week, the state’s Court of Appeals said no, the law does not permit direct lawsuits against municipalities. This stands in contrast with civil rights lawsuits brought at the federal level, where plaintiffs may sue police employers for implementing policies or customs of unconstitutional conduct, even if the individual officers are immune from being sued.

•  And speaking of those federal lawsuits, physician P.J. Parmar alleged an Aurora officer and the city itself violated his constitutional rights after the officer briefly pointed a gun at him while Parmar tried to eject the officer from his property. U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney, a Biden administration appointee who is less than one month into her new job, found there was no constitutional violation by either defendant.

•  “This court is well aware of the issues the city of Aurora has in policing its citizens of color,” Sweeney acknowledged, alluding to recent findings of racially-biased law enforcement and excessive force. Nevertheless, she said that Parmar, who is of Asian-Pacific descent, had not shown his race was a motivating factor in the officer’s conduct.

Judicial reform recommendations

•  An interim legislative committee disclosed several preliminary recommendations to reforming the process of disciplining state judges. Because the judicial discipline system exists in the constitution, there would have to be a popular vote to approve many of the changes. The proposal includes:

Making formal disciplinary proceedings public

Informing victims/complainants about the progress of a misconduct case

Sharing disciplinary decisions with judicial performance (i.e. retention) commissions

Allowing Court of Appeals judges to hear misconduct cases against Supreme Court justices

Heard on appeal

•  Former Arapahoe County District Court Judge Natalie T. Chase resigned last year and received a censure from the Colorado Supreme Court for her racial statements and other misconduct. But the Court of Appeals decided its review of a Black defendant’s trial “purged the case of any taint” that arose from Chase’s limited involvement with the proceedings.

•  After a jury had deliberated for 11 hours and took a break for the weekend, one juror had a heart attack and could not return. The Court of Appeals said the trial judge had taken thorough precautions to mitigate unfairness when he substituted the alternate juror and ordered deliberations to restart completely with the new member of the jury.

•  An El Paso County judge preemptively dismissed the criminal charges against a defendant after believing the COVID-19 pandemic had compromised her ability to bring the man to trial within the legal window. The Court of Appeals reversed that decision, saying the judge misapplied the law. 

•  The state’s appellate courts continue to grapple with when juvenile court judges have “reason to know” a child in custody proceedings fits the legal definition of an “Indian child,” thereby triggering longstanding federal protections for tribal nations. The Colorado Supreme Court, which is already in the process of deciding one such appeal, has now taken up a similar case.

In federal news

•  Last year, a federal judge declined to strike down the portion of Colorado law that temporarily prohibits entities from registering as paid solicitors if they are under an injunction to refrain from deceptive business practices. A company with approximately 30 charitable and nonprofit clients alleged the prohibition violated its First Amendment right to free speech. The judge found the law constitutional, decided Secretary of State Jena Griswold was obligated to apply the prohibition in this instance, and refused to reconsider his ruling this month.

•  An officer in the Colorado Army National Guard challenged a military rule against participating in protests where “violence is likely” after he was investigated for attending a Black Lives Matter protest in May 2020. But following the military’s reversal of all of his discipline, a judge dismissed his lawsuit, believing the controversy had ended.

•  What happens if someone is sexually assaulted in jail but they’re not awake to witness it? A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from an Adams County jail detainee who claimed jail officials failed to protect him against the sexual assaults he believed were happening while he sleepwalked. 

•  A federal judge concluded the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender violated its policies and a judicial directive when it declined to represent a pair of criminal defendants who had virtually no income.

Vacancies and appointments

•  The governor has appointed Mark T. Bailey, a senior assistant attorney general working on consumer protection issues, and Sarah B. Wallace, a commercial litigator, to be judges on the Denver District Court. They will succeed retiring Judges Brian R. Whitney and Ross B.H. Buchanan, respectively.

•  Deputy District Attorney Renee S. Doak will be the next judge on the Weld County Court, succeeding retiring Judge Charles Unfug.

•  There are three finalists to succeed retiring Judge Kimberly L. Wood on the Costilla County Court: Kaeden C. Johns, Trayson N. Stephany and Tamara Sullivan.

•  William Y. Furse and County Court Judge JenniLynn Lawrence are in the running to succeed retiring Chief Judge Douglas S. Walker in the 22nd Judicial District of Dolores and Montezuma counties.

•  Applications are due by Sept. 9 for those seeking to fill the vacancy of retiring District Court Judge Russell H. Granger in the Fifth Judicial District (Eagle, Clear Creek, Lake and Summit counties).

Miscellaneous decisions

•  The Denver Gazette looked at the unusual grand jury proceedings in Denver that will assess officers’ actions in shooting a crowd of bystanders last month in Lower Downtown.

•  Rural and low-income counties have until Sept. 26 to apply for grants to help renovate or construct new courthouse facilities.