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

The U.S. Senate moved a federal judge nominee for Colorado one step closer to confirmation, and the state Supreme Court’s recent activities have included analyzing racial bias in jury selection, issuing multiple 4-3 decisions and defending its planned reforms to lawmakers.

Judge Gallagher on his way to becoming…Judge Gallagher

?  U.S. Magistrate Judge Gordon P. Gallagher is the Biden administration’s latest nominee to be one of the seven life-tenured district judges on Colorado’s federal trial court. Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 14-7 to send his nomination to the floor, with three Republicans joining all of the committee’s Democrats in voting for him. 

?  If confirmed, Gallagher would bring two elements of diversity to the bench: geographic (he lives on the Western Slope) and professional (he’s a part-time criminal defense attorney). He would also be only the second magistrate judge in Colorado’s history to secure a district judge appointment.

?  The seat for which Gallagher was nominated is now vacant, as U.S. District Court Senior Judge William J. Martínez stepped down from active duty last week, having given the White House one full year to appoint a successor. In retrospect, even that wasn’t enough time for the Senate to act.

?  “Judge Gallagher was voted out of committee today with strong bipartisan support and Sen. Bennet and his office will continue to advocate for a floor vote for Judge Gallagher as soon as possible,” said a spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet when asked when Gallagher’s confirmation vote might take place.

?  Another vacancy is also on the horizon for Colorado, as U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore will step down as an active judge four months from now. Although the Biden administration received a list of finalists from Colorado’s senators six months ago, it has still not named a nominee.

Latest at the state Supreme Court

?  Last week, Colorado’s justices held a three-hour public hearing on the subject of racial bias in jury selection. The question: Should the Supreme Court adopt a rule that limits attorneys’ ability to remove people of color from juries for reasons that, while not explicitly racial, historically correlate to race? Prosecutors lined up to say no, deriding the change as “affirmative action.” Defense attorneys and trial judges argued the opposite, explaining that people of color who have negative interactions with police are being kicked off juries, and that’s ultimately due to their race.

?  Although the justices had logistical concerns about the rule and appeared far from endorsing it as proposed, there was also this overarching sentiment: “We’ve already been called racist for not immediately adopting these rules,” said Justice Melissa Hart. “And I’m not happy about it.”

?  In a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court ensured that defendants on trial for felony drunk driving will have their prior convictions aired before juries at the same time the current allegations are presented. The dissenting justices, as well as defense attorneys, decried the decision as one that will all but guarantee future DUI convictions.

?  Again by 4-3, the Supreme Court held that defendants are not entitled to a probable cause hearing before a judge when their offense wouldn’t result in prison time on paper – even if, practically speaking, a conviction would put them behind bars.

?  The justices were able to find common ground, however, on the principle that a defendant who fails to object to a sleeping juror during his trial doesn’t get to have the appellate courts look at the issue.

?  Shared use of a gun in a household can violate Colorado’s law on “straw purchases” if one of the occupants is prohibited from possessing a firearm, the justices decided.

?  The Supreme Court granted review of several cases in recent weeks that address the following questions: Can a law firm financially penalize departing attorneys if they take clients with them? Does a federal law enacted in the early COVID-19 pandemic still require landlords to provide 30 days’ notice of an eviction? If someone is arrested for impaired driving twice, but the chronologically-second charge results in a conviction first, does that mean the chronologically-first charge is actually a subsequent conviction? And if a mental health evaluator expresses no opinion about whether a defendant will be competent to stand trial anytime soon, what does a judge do with that information?

?  Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright and the judicial branch’s top administrator, Steven Vasconcellos, also appeared before the state legislature to explain their plans for improving workplace culture and access to justice, as well as take questions and criticism from lawmakers.

Heard on appeal

?  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit found federal prosecutors’ choice to wait 23 months before beginning their criminal case against a defendant didn’t amount to a constitutional violation of his speedy trial right.

?  Even though a trial judge handled a civil lawsuit against Wells Fargo while his wife held Wells Fargo stock, there is no need to reopen the case, the 10th Circuit ruled.

?  A 2021 statement by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas questioning the government’s rationale for enforcing the federal marijuana prohibition doesn’t help a Denver dispensary in its tax dispute, the 10th Circuit said.

?  The state’s Court of Appeals has now explained the conditions under which a person’s Social Security benefits can be garnished to repay a debt.

?  A Denver judge didn’t invite a defendant to speak at his resentencing and also based the new sentence on what a previous judge might have handed down if he “was here today.” The Court of Appeals sent the case back for a second resentencing (and a third sentencing overall).

?  A Denver judge baselessly told a defendant he either had to give up his right to a speedy trial if he wanted a lawyer or else go to trial on time by representing himself. The defendant chose the latter and was convicted. The Court of Appeals has now overturned the convictions because of the judge’s behavior.

?  The Court of Appeals reversed another conviction out of Adams County due to a judge’s faulty illustration of reasonable doubt to the jury.

?  An El Paso County prosecutor misrepresented what a Black juror said while attempting to remove him from the jury pool. The Court of Appeals found no purposeful racial discrimination in the “innocent” mistake.

?  The Court of Appeals has disagreed with its own recent decision related to child prostitution, setting up a question for the Supreme Court to resolve.

In federal news

?  Less than a year into her job as a federal magistrate judge, Maritza Dominguez Braswell has become one of the few federal judges across the country who summarizes her decisions in plain English for plaintiffs who don’t have an attorney.

?  There will now be a trial to determine whether the founders of an election-skeptic group engaged in voter intimidation in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.

?  A woman has failed to show how the Elbert County sheriff is liable for his employee’s alleged violation of her rights, a federal judge ruled.

?  The government will not seek the death penalty against a Colorado Springs man accused of espionage-related crimes.

Vacancies and appointments

?  The governor has appointed Lake County Court Judge Jonathan Shamis to the district court for Clear Creek, Eagle, Summit and Lake counties. He will replace former District Court Judge Mark D. Thompson, who resigned in the wake of criminal charges and a courtroom blowup.

?  The governor has also selected Matthew G. Margeson, the Republican district attorney for Dolores and Montezuma counties, to be the Dolores County Court judge, succeeding Anthony N. Baca. The appointment will trigger a vacancy for the district attorney seat.

?  Magistrate Meegan A. Miloud of the First Judicial District (Jefferson and Gilpin counties) is the governor’s choice to succeed retiring District Court Judge Laura A. Tighe.

?  There are two finalists to fill the vacancy of former La Plata County Court Judge Anne K. Woods: Anthony Edwards and R. Reid Stewart.

?  Applications are due by Feb. 27 to succeed retiring Chief Judge Deborah Eyler on the Pueblo County District Court.

Miscellaneous proceedings

?  The Gazette examined prosecutors’ use of grand juries in bringing criminal charges against law enforcement officers in Colorado.

?  The Denver Gazette profiled Arapahoe County District Court Judge Cajardo Lindsey, not for his work on the bench but for his extracurricular pursuits as an accomplished actor.

?  A judge found she could not adjudicate a dispute between the Colorado Republican Party and the local GOP in El Paso County.

See you after the holiday

?  Court Crawl will return after the Presidents Day holiday.