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

The judiciary’s bill to add 29 more state judgeships advanced in the legislature last week, and two judges gave a presentation about the latest developments in generative AI and the law.

Judge bill underway

•  The Colorado Judicial Department’s legislative priority, a bill to establish 29 new judgeships across the state, advanced on a vote of 6-1 in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Support and opposition are both fluid, and depend upon whether the state can fund the cost of the bill in the face of a large budget deficit this year.

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•  One possibility, suggested by Sen. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, is that some of the positions might be prioritized for funding over others, or that the positions would be rolled out over a longer period. The chief justice said she was willing to have those discussions.

Artificial intelligence

•  Justice Maria E. Berkenkotter and Judge Lino S. Lipinsky de Orlov, as they have done in other venues, gave a presentation to federal practitioners about the state of generative AI and its use in the law. Among other things, Lipinsky said there will soon be a report recommending possible changes to Colorado’s rules that will address when and how attorneys can make use of AI tools.

•  Days later, the Supreme Court’s civil rules committee also held a brief discussion about the possibility of amending Colorado’s rules to require disclosure about the use of generative AI in preparing civil case filings. Committee members felt it was better to wait for the impending report and its recommendations.

•  “This may be a sort of situation that is a solution in search of a problem — I wouldn’t put it that way, but it may be our existing rules cover any misbehavior, misuse of generative AI simply because the rules are worded broadly enough,” said the committee’s chair, Judge Jerry N. Jones of the Court of Appeals. “I have a confession to make. When I write opinions from scratch, I write them with this (holds up a pen). That’s how old school I am. And yet, as old school as I am, I recognize the importance of this issue and the importance of generative AI.”

Heard on appeal

•  The Court of Appeals concluded a Mesa County judge was wrong to acquit a bail bondsman of trespassing, as a jury could have found the defendant used deception to make the property managers think he was a law enforcement officer in his effort to gain access to a fugitive’s apartment.

•  The Court of Appeals agreed that litigants have the right to constitutionally effective assistance of counsel in contempt proceedings, but clarified there is a method outside of the criminal rules for claiming a violation of that right.

•  A troubled state vaccination contractor failed to show it was likely to succeed at trial on its defamation claims against Denver7, the Court of Appeals concluded.

• An El Paso County magistrate did not follow the law or the rules governing magistrates when ruling in two family disputes, the Court of Appeals found.

In federal news

•  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit considered whether to block a 2023 Colorado law making it harder to circulate “ghost guns” that are untraceable to law enforcement.

•  A federal judge declined to block a 2024 Colorado law, on the eve of its effective date, that requires rideshare companies to disclose information at the end of every ride about how much the driver made prior to any tip. In part, the judge faulted Uber for waiting until nearly the last minute to mount a First Amendment challenge.

•  A federal judge concluded two parents in School District 27J hadn’t shown they were likely to succeed in striking down policies that require public school personnel to address students by the name that corresponds with their gender identity.

•  Although the behavior may have been negligent, a federal judge concluded a Denver Public Schools employee and the school district itself couldn’t be held liable for a constitutional violation after a cognitively disabled student squeezed himself out of a classroom window and fell two stories to the ground.

•  Colorado Springs will stand trial alongside four of its police officers, as jurors will decide if the city’s inadequate training led to the violation of a deceased man’s constitutional rights.

•  After a Republican-appointed judge on the 10th Circuit suggested how litigants could successfully challenge the legality of workplace diversity and equity initiatives, a former prison employee amended his lawsuit alleging a hostile work environment. But a trial judge concluded he still hadn’t shown how a single training module on a computer rose to the level of affecting his workplace.

•  The federal judiciary released its semiannual data showing how many judges had motions in civil cases still sitting on their dockets after six months, as of Sept. 30, 2024. U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews topped the list in Colorado with 27 motions, while semi-retired senior judges were responsible for almost all of the remaining backlog.

Vacancies and appointments

•  The governor has appointed Arapahoe County Court Judge J. Jay Williford to a newly created district judgeship in the 18th Judicial District (which, as of last month, consists only of Arapahoe County).

•  There are three nominees to succeed the late District Court Judge Sharon Holbrook in the 17th Judicial District (Adams and Broomfield counties): Stephanie R. Perkins, Magistrate Sara S. Price and Toni J. Wehman.