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

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in an unprecedented case of presidential disqualification out of Colorado, and the state Supreme Court returns this week to hear arguments of its own in five cases.

From the Colorado Supreme Court to the U.S. Supreme Court

•  Last Thursday, the nation’s highest court heard approximately two hours of arguments in Trump v. Anderson, a case out of Colorado that asks whether Donald Trump is constitutionally disqualified from the state’s primary ballot — and potentially all other states’ ballots — because he engaged in insurrection. The federal justices, in contrast to their counterparts in Colorado, appeared to unite around the same answer: No.

•  One member of the court name-checked Justice Carlos A. Samour Jr. of Colorado, who wrote the most detailed dissent in December arguing against Trump’s disqualification. Although Samour raised questions about the due process afforded to Trump — an issue Trump did not appeal — Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh linked Samour’s dissent to the broader question of states having the authority to boot presidential candidates from their ballots.

•  Samour traveled to Washington, D.C. and attended the arguments. The Judicial Department said he was the only Colorado justice to do so. Through a departmental spokesperson, Samour declined to comment on the experience.

•  There were also 73 sets of amicus briefs filed in the case, with interested parties arguing about points of history, the implications for democracy and who should be left with the power to disqualify insurrectionist candidates.

State Supreme Court arguments

•  Beginning on Tuesday morning, the state Supreme Court will hear five appeals in civil and criminal cases. They are:

Miller v. Crested Butte, LLC.: Does the language in a ski pass waiver absolve Vail Resorts of liability for a skier’s debilitating fall from a chairlift?

Castro v. People: How should appellate courts review a trial judge’s decision to substitute the alternate juror into a criminal case mid-deliberation?

People v. Johnson and People v. Austin: If a juror of color expresses concerns about police bias based on her own experiences, is a prosecutor’s decision to remove the juror inherently race-related?

Franktown Citizens Coalition II, Inc. et al. v. Independence Water and Sanitation District et al.: This is a water rights case out of Elbert County involving the increased withdrawal of non-tributary groundwater.

Heard on appeal

•  The Colorado Supreme Court agreed Jefferson County is not immune from being sued by a woman who slipped, fell and injured herself in a county-owned parking garage because of a maintenance defect.

•  A Boulder bike thief is responsible for the damage he caused to his victim’s car when the victim chased him down as he was fleeing, the Supreme Court decided.

•  The Supreme Court will review the boundaries of a judicial rule that limits when plaintiffs can bring negligence cases. The justices will also scrutinize a Jefferson County judge’s order requiring plaintiffs to disclose their communications with their attorneys to the defendants in a civil lawsuit.

•  In a rare move, the state’s Court of Appeals withdrew its opinion, issued a new one and reached the same conclusion that a Denver criminal conviction should be reversed — but for a different reason.

•  The Court of Appeals found an Adams County judge should have suppressed the evidence in a man’s drug possession trial because the arresting officer performed an unconstitutional search during a traffic stop.

•  For the first time, the Court of Appeals considered whether a defendant’s convictions should be automatically reversed if a trial judge neglects to swear in the jury. No, they shouldn’t, the court concluded.

In federal news

•  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed an ex-Denver Public Schools teacher hadn’t proven his nonrenewal was the result of discrimination, as he alleged it to be.

•  A federal judge permitted a man’s excessive force claim to proceed against Westminster police officers who allegedly beat him after he was already unconscious.

Vacancies and appointments

•  The U.S. District Court has extended its application period for a pair of magistrate judge vacancies to next Tuesday, Feb. 20.

Miscellaneous proceedings

•  Eight people graduated last week from the Fourth Judicial District’s Recovery Court (El Paso and Teller counties), a 23-year-old “problem solving” court to divert non-violent defendants into treatment.

Court Crawl on break

•  Due to the holiday, the Court Crawl will be on break next week.