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

The state Supreme Court released a package of decisions fine-tuning its landmark ruling about Colorado’s restitution law, and the judicial branch sponsored an event for people who are interested in becoming state judges.

Crime victim restitution

•  Readers are probably aware that four years ago, the Colorado Supreme Court broadcast its concern that trial judges and prosecutors had gotten into the groove of awarding crime victim restitution in a way that ignored the clear deadlines and process in state law. That decision, People v. Weeks, said judges lose authority to award restitution if they a.) don’t do so within 91 days of sentencing or b.) find good cause exists to extend the deadline.

•  In the years since, questions have arisen about the specific circumstances in which Weeks applies. For instance, what if the defense asks for a restitution hearing to be held after the 91-day deadline? Or what about restitution orders that are faulty, but have been final for years? 

•  In a set of five decisions, the Supreme Court made a few clarifications. While it stood by its original interpretation in Weeks, the justices significantly narrowed who could challenge a restitution order and when. If the defense causes the judge to consider the restitution amount outside the deadline, that’ll generally insulate the order from a challenge. Likewise, years-old restitution orders whose only violation is an untimely determination of the amount are not open to challenge.

•  “This series of cases undercuts the holding in Weeks, ensures many people whose rights were violated now have no remedy, and imposes no consequences for courts and prosecutors who habitually violated the requirements of (the restitution law). Justice Samour opened the opinion in Weeks by lamenting that ‘Old habits die hard.’ These cases make it harder to challenge violations of the restitution statute by courts and prosecutors who disregard the deadlines.” —Charles Testa, defense attorney

Other Supreme Court news

•  The court confirmed that defendants are not entitled to time-served credit for non-residential community corrections sentences, even if a 1991 ruling may have suggested otherwise.

•  By 5-2, the Supreme Court ruled a defendant wasn’t “seized” by police when he ran into a group of officers by chance and immediately agreed to be patted down.

•  The Durango & Silverton tourist railroad is subject to La Plata County’s land-use code for a set of physical changes to an intermediate station, the court decided.

•  The Supreme Court barred a man from continuing to make filings by himself after numerous judges found his arguments meritless.

•  By 5-2, the Supreme Court decided a positive drug test alone on a newborn could lead to a finding of child neglect, even though the legislature changed the law five years ago to seemingly avert that outcome.

•  “We were part of the legislative effort — which was many years in the making — and the majority decision is definitely contrary to the legislative intent.” —Indra Lusero, founder and director of the nonprofit Elephant Circle

Heard on appeal

•  A judge wrongly allowed a child witness to testify remotely due to concern about the defendant’s parents, but the error didn’t affect the outcome, the state’s Court of Appeals decided.

In federal news

•  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit ruled that a Denver sheriff’s deputy will face a civil trial for punching a restrained man and pushing him into the ground in response to his spitting.

•  The 10th Circuit decided a man’s prior conviction, which would not have allowed for sentence of more than a year in prison, didn’t prohibit him from owning a gun.

•  A federal judge green-lit a jury trial for 13 plaintiffs who claim Denver’s response to 2020 protests violated their constitutional rights.

•  A judge dismissed a $50 million defamation lawsuit from a plaintiff who was allegedly called a “prostitute” during a social gathering.

Vacancies and appointments

•  The governor has appointed Baca County Court Judge Lyudmyla “Milla” Lishchuk to the Morgan County Court to succeed retiring Judge Dennis L. Brandenburg.

•  There are three finalists for a newly created seat on the La Plata County Court: Shane Edwin Goranson, Douglas J. Reynolds and Richard Eugene Schmittel.

•  There are also two finalists to succeed District Court Judge Justin B. Haenlein in the 13th Judicial District (Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington and Yuma counties): David Wayne Bute and Phillips County Court Judge Kimbra Leigh Killin.

•  The deadline is June 17 to apply for a part-time judgeship on the Baca County Court to succeed Lishchuk. The position does not require a law degree.

Miscellaneous proceedings

•  Several sitting judges, including a couple of Supreme Court justices, spoke with people who are thinking about applying to the bench. The event, sponsored by the judicial branch and the Colorado Women’s Bar Association Foundation, also included the governor’s chief legal counsel, Kara Veitch.

•  “You can tell when people are answering the question in the way they think we want them to answer it. These are not political interviews,” she said. “We’ve had some people come in and say, ‘I want to be in this job to help advance Gov. Polis’ agenda.’ We are like, ‘Whoa! That is not this job.'”