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

The state’s Court of Appeals decided multiple cases implicating free speech rights, plus Colorado’s most error-prone judge was reversed on appeal yet again.

Heard on appeal

•  The Colorado Supreme Court agreed a defendant couldn’t be faulted for failing to cooperate in a court-ordered mental condition evaluation because she lacked the competency to proceed. Yet, by 4-3, a slim majority of the court agreed a new trial was necessary due to the wrongly excluded mental health evidence.

•  The justices seemed inclined to hold a debt collector to precisely what state lawmakers have required when suing people for unpaid debts.

•  The Court of Appeals agreed a defendant who confronted an El Paso County judge in an elevator hadn’t made “true threats” that could form the basis of a criminal prosecution, and instead her criticisms were protected speech.

•  The Court of Appeals decided public figures may not bring defamation claims simply because someone characterizes their actions as a crime, but rather when they make true-or-false assertions about the underlying conduct.

•  Juries aren’t obligated to use any particular price when deciding the value of stolen goods in theft cases, the Court of Appeals ruled.

•  Judges aren’t required to recuse themselves from sentencing a criminal defendant just because they also learned about the nature of a conflict between the defendant and his appointed attorney, and the defendant may have had a negative reaction.

•  The Court of Appeals reversed a Douglas County defendant’s convictions because then-District Court Judge Patricia Herron didn’t hold a hearing to resolve an evidentiary dispute. It is the third reversal in Herron’s cases since December, atop a long list of prior reversals. Herron remains on the bench as a part-time senior judge under a contract with the chief justice.

In federal news

•  A federal judge seemingly recognized, as a rule, that police can reasonably assume a vehicle occupant will turn violent and reach for a weapon if officers arrest their romantic partner during a traffic stop. No, that’s not how it works, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit responded.

•  A federal judge formalized his injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Agriculture from forcing Colorado into a “pilot project” that would’ve required mass recertification of 100,000 food assistance recipients on extremely short notice and for no compelling reason.

•  A federal judge said he couldn’t reduce the sentence of a prisoner solely because he has been in solitary confinement for eight years, but that the man may renew his request with specific details about how the isolation is affecting him.

•  A Denver officer will face a civil jury trial on allegations that he engaged in racially selective law enforcement.

•  Colorado’s former director of judicial discipline will have to explain why an out-of-state federal judge shouldn’t sanction him for his seeming misrepresentations during a lawsuit against the Colorado Supreme Court and related entities.

•  A federal judge preliminarily approved a class of Aurora firefighter trainees who can sue the city for allegedly depriving them of overtime pay in violation of the law.

•  A medical contractor for the Eagle County jail can’t be held liable for a man’s death in custody, as the jail staff were the ones who allegedly vetoed a higher level of medical intervention.

Immigration detention update

•  Readers are likely aware that Colorado’s federal district court is facing a flood of “habeas corpus” petitions from those in immigration detention. The most common allegation is that the government is improperly denying bond hearings to people who are eligible by law. Colorado’s judges, like the vast majority of their peers nationwide, have agreed with that argument.

•  However, there are interesting developments occurring across these cases, which are flowing in at a rate of approximately eight per weekday to Colorado’s U.S. District Court.

•  Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney concluded she could consider a man’s current period in immigration custody, plus his previous incarceration 20 years ago, when determining if his length of detention violates his rights:

•  Judge Regina M. Rodriguez wrote that the government’s abrupt dismissal of a man’s asylum proceedings, only to arrest him immediately upon leaving the courtroom, didn’t transform him into someone “seeking admission” to the country who could be detained without bond:

Vacancies and appointments

•  Applications are due by March 28 to succeed retiring District Court Judge Philip J. McNulty in the First Judicial District (Jefferson and Gilpin counties).

Miscellaneous proceedings

•  Applications are due by April 16 for counties seeking grants to help with courthouse security costs. Up to $2.8 million in funding is available from the state’s Judicial Department.