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

The application period is now open for the first state Supreme Court vacancy in five years, plus Colorado Politics looked back on the significant judicial developments from 2025.

At the Supreme Court

•  The Colorado Supreme Court halted the practice of municipalities imposing greater sentences for violations of their ordinances than for identical offenses under state law.

•  The justices determined a Fremont County judge had wrongly concluded an officer’s failure to unmute his body-worn camera during an interaction meant the evidence he later recovered from a motel room was inadmissible.

•  The Supreme Court heard comments on a proposed rule change that would remind attorneys of their professional obligation to monitor the output of any artificial intelligence tool they may use.

•  The court pondered whether an insurance company’s ability to defend itself from an allegedly at-fault driver’s actions was compromised after the driver failed to participate in the case.

Heard on appeal

•  The state’s Court of Appeals clarified how judges should evaluate whether restrictions placed on a parent’s ability to call their child by a certain name will violate the parent’s First Amendment rights.

•  One appellate judge believed a recent Supreme Court decision allowing the government alone to prosecute child neglect cases doesn’t sweep as broadly as her colleagues decided it does.

•  A faulty self-defense instruction triggered a new felony menacing trial for an El Paso County defendant.

•  Several years after trial and following a stop at the state Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals upheld a $3 million consumer protection penalty imposed on a defunct for-profit college.

•  A Douglas County judge violated a defendant’s constitutional right to the counsel of her choice by refusing to postpone a sentencing hearing until her attorney could return from a trip abroad.

•  If a defense lawyer tells jurors in closing that they should find the defendant guilty of an offense, the Court of Appeals determined the defendant can’t later claim there was insufficient evidence of guilt on appeal.

•  The crime of violating a child custody order applies to the number of children affected, not the number of orders violated, the Court of Appeals ruled.

•  By 2-1, the Court of Appeals invalidated a judge’s order for a defendant to pay $350,000 in crime victim restitution because it was issued after the legal deadline.

In federal news

• Two members of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit discussed the best ways to advocate in front of the court in writing or in oral arguments.

•  A federal judge rejected the religious discrimination claims brought by an ex-Douglas County school administrator.

• A federal judge concluded an immigration judge used faulty reasoning and questionable evidence to deny bond to a detained man.

• A judge declined to block a recent state law governing access to discount drugs under a federal program.

• Constitutional claims will proceed against Colorado prison officials who allegedly knew about a man’s self-medication and seizures, but failed to respond adequately.

• U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, Colorado Springs’ mayor and other officials pushed last year for a new courthouse with a district judge’s chambers in Colorado Springs, but the court currently has no judges to put in a hypothetical courthouse there.

Vacancies and appointments

•  Justice Melissa Hart has left the Colorado Supreme Court effective today. Applications to succeed her are due by Jan. 23, and interviews with the citizen-led nominating commission will take place on Feb. 2-3.

•  The lieutenant governor, in her role as acting governor, appointed Aurora Municipal Court Judge Shelby L. Fyles to succeed retiring District Court Judge Elizabeth B. Volz in the 23rd Judicial District (Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties).

Miscellaneous proceedings

•  Colorado Politics looked at the top judicial news from 2025, which included a focus on judicial security and the rule of law, plus the explosion in civil filings at the state’s federal trial court.