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

The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in multiple civil and criminal cases, plus the Denver-based federal appeals court is doing something unusual for its own round of arguments this week.

At the Supreme Court

•  In a rare move owing to the recent departure of Justice Melissa Hart, the Colorado Supreme Court split 3-3 on the question of whether a child’s legal representative in a welfare proceeding can file a motion to terminate a parent’s legal rights over the child. Consequently, the court issued no opinion.

•  At some point, either through legislation or through another Supreme Court decision once the seventh justice is seated, there will need to be guidance about the scope of what a child’s legal representative can do in the trial courts, and the related issue of what they can do on appeal.

•  The Supreme Court determined defendants can seek the criminal file of ex-state DNA scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods, who is being prosecuted for numerous alleged acts of misconduct, but the process isn’t as simple as a judge issuing an order to produce the materials.

•  After a Larimer County judge ordered another competency evaluation for a defendant, she couldn’t deny the defense a second opinion later, the justices concluded.

•  Arapahoe County law enforcement improperly obtained a defendant’s medical records for her child abuse prosecution, the Supreme Court ruled.

•  The Supreme Court considered whether a confidential school safety tip provided sufficient grounds for an administrator to search a student’s backpack for drugs.

•  The justices seemed hesitant to let rezonings of planned-unit developments occur via ballot initiative, rather than through localities’ detailed review processes.

•  The Supreme Court discussed the framework that judges should use when deciding whether to severely reduce a parent’s visitation time with their child.

•  The court will decide the scope of Colorado’s witness retaliation law and whether homeowner associations should be liable for injuries to guests on their property.

Heard on appeal

•  Former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters challenged her convictions before a three-judge Court of Appeals panel. While the judges were skeptical and even confused about her broad arguments for reversal, they appeared sympathetic to a potential re-sentencing and the reduction of one conviction from a felony to a misdemeanor.

In federal news

•  For the first time in 12 years, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has invited district judges from the circuit’s six-state region to sit alongside the appellate judges during oral arguments this week. Although this was a longtime practice of the 10th Circuit, trial judges haven’t participated in arguments since 2013.

•  “Sometime last fall, the Tenth Circuit solicited interest from district judges to sit by designation, and I put my name in the proverbial hat,” said Judge Matthew L. Garcia of New Mexico, who is one of six district judges coming to Denver this week. “I also hope it’s a positive and educational experience for my law clerks, who work extremely hard at their jobs. They are quite excited to participate in the appellate process firsthand.”

•  The 10th Circuit told Jefferson County that no, a judge’s decision allowing depositions to move forward in a civil lawsuit isn’t the same as denying qualified immunity to government defendants outright. Therefore, such a decision isn’t entitled to an immediate appeal.

•  For seemingly the first time in Colorado, a federal judge expressed doubts about the government’s broad invocation of the “automatic stay” to block people in immigration detention from being released on bond.

•  A federal judge told the government it can’t impose conditions of monitoring or release that go beyond what an immigration judge has ordered in releasing someone on bond.

Vacancies and appointments

•  Applications are due by Jan. 26 to succeed San Miguel County Court Judge Sean K. Murphy, who recently resigned in the wake of a misconduct investigation.

•  The governor has appointed seven people to the citizen-led commission that nominates Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges, which is particularly salient because they will be screening applicants for a Supreme Court vacancy very soon. The new members are:

• David Powell, attorney member from the First Congressional District

• Patrick O’Rourke, attorney member from the Fourth Congressional District

• Steven Erkenbrack, attorney member from the Third Congressional District

• Daneya Esgar, non-attorney member from the Third Congressional District

• Janet Buckner, non-attorney member from the Sixth Congressional District

• Eva Henry, non-attorney member from the Eighth Congressional District

• Alvina Vasquez, non-attorney member at-large 

Miscellaneous proceedings

The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver has selected the director of Colorado’s Access to Justice Commission, Elisa Overall, as the 2026 recipient of IAALS’ Alli Gerkman Legal Visionary Award. The honor is intended for “innovators, risk takers, visionaries, and emerging leaders who bring a unique perspective to the improvement of our justice system, and who are early in their legal careers.”