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

The state Supreme Court is holding its final round of oral arguments before its summer vacation beginning today, and the Court of Appeals recently reversed multiple stalking convictions based on new U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

Oral arguments begin today

•  Colorado’s justices are about to take a break from hearing cases in July and August. But first, they have five appeals on the docket starting this morning:

Sellers v. People: Is a life sentence without parole unconstitutional or, at the very least, highly disproportionate for those convicted of felony murder — meaning they were not the one who directly caused the victim’s death?

People v. Eugene: Did the Court of Appeals correctly find an Aurora officer’s failure to give a Miranda warning to a road rage suspect required a new trial?

People v. Segura: Did a trial judge improperly limit the claims a defendant’s attorney could argue when seeking postconviction relief?

Masterpiece Cakeshop, Inc. et al. v. Scardina: Is a cakemaker’s decision not to create a cake for a transgender customer speech protected by the First Amendment or a violation of Colorado’s non-discrimination law?

Niemeyer v. People: Did police need to give a murder suspect a Miranda warning when they detained her, did not let her go to the hospital and asked her questions about the shooting?

•  Also, the Supreme Court will host a swearing-in ceremony in its courtroom on Thursday afternoon for the first class of licensed legal paraprofessionals, a new occupation allowing for the limited practice of family law by qualified non-attorneys.

In other Supreme Court news

•  By 4-3, the justices decided a defendant could not challenge for the first time on appeal the fact that his trial judge needed to recuse herself because she was briefly his lawyer. The dissenting members argued there was no proof the defense lawyers knew about the conflict before the appeal, as no one involved in the case ever mentioned the judge’s obligation to recuse herself.

•  The Supreme Court took a rare, self-described “U-turn” by concluding felony DUI defendants who were not convicted in accordance with state law are not entitled to automatic reversal of their convictions, contrary to what the court itself said four years ago. Moreover, they are not entitled to the change in legal interpretation while their case is on direct appeal.

•  Limited disclosure of a decedent’s medical records is appropriate when there is a challenge to their sound mind or allegations of undue influence in executing their will, the court clarified.

•  The justices found a Jefferson County judge incorrectly ordered broad disclosure of the attorney-client communications made by a group of plaintiffs alleging toxic chemical exposure.

•  The Supreme Court will decide whether to stand by its 33-year-old conclusion that defendants serving sentences in non-residential community corrections are not entitled to deduct that time should they be resentenced to prison.

Heard on appeal

•  Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court took the unusual step of reviewing a decision of Colorado’s Court of Appeals. In Counterman v. Colorado, the nation’s highest court concluded prosecutors need to prove an alleged stalker had some awareness of the threatening nature of his communications, not just that the statements were objectively threatening in context.

•  Recently, the Court of Appeals applied Counterman and reversed a stalking conviction for the first time. The Adams County defendant sent several text messages to his alleged victim despite her pleas to stop, but the appellate court concluded a jury might find he did not have the required mental state to be guilty.

•  Days later, the Court of Appeals also released its new opinion in the original Counterman case, similarly concluding a new trial was necessary with the correct jury instruction.

•  The appellate court ruled that a Larimer County judge did not unconstitutionally penalize a man for expressing his religious beliefs about homosexuality when she awarded parental decision-making responsibility to his ex-wife. Instead, the man’s comments about his ex, who had since begun a same-sex relationship, went “well beyond” religious expression and were outright disparaging.

•  The Court of Appeals refused to consider a multimillion-dollar appeal in an oil and gas case because the lawyer’s assistant filed the notice of the appeal in the wrong court the day of the deadline and the lawyer himself did not notice the mistake until it was too late — despite having ample time to intervene.

•  9News may be sued for the actions of a security guard who fatally shot a man outside a 2020 protest while in the process of protecting a journalist.

In federal news

•  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed a jury should decide whether a Saguache County jail supervisor committed a constitutional violation by recognizing a detainee’s suicidality but not doing enough to prevent his death.

•  The 10th Circuit upheld a trial judge’s order to forcibly medicate the man accused of killing three people in a 2015 shooting at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood facility and who is not yet competent to stand trial.

•  Colorado’s chief federal district judge and two attorneys provided a tutorial to practitioners about how to conduct jury selection professionally and effectively.

•  The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously advanced a bill that would add more than five dozen judgeships to federal trial courts across the country, including two in Colorado.

Vacancies and appointments

•  Applications are due by July 12 to succeed retiring District Court Judge Charles M. Hobbs of the 13th Judicial District (Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington and Yuma counties).

Miscellaneous proceedings

•  The Fourth Judicial District (El Paso and Teller counties) reported eight participants recently graduated from the Recovery Court, also called the “drug court,” whose purpose is to divert some defendants into supervised treatment programs.