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

Colorado’s chief federal trial judge is the choice for an upcoming vacancy on the Denver-based federal appeals court, plus the state Supreme Court heard oral arguments in three cases.

Domenico picked for elevation

•  U.S. District Court Chief Judge Daniel D. Domenico is the president’s choice to fill a Colorado-based vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. A former solicitor general of Colorado, Domenico was interested in a 10th Circuit appointment during the first Trump administration, but he received a trial court seat instead.

•  Domenico was a clerk for the 10th Circuit judge he’d be succeeding, Timothy M. Tymkovich. And for a final piece of trivia: He’d be the first trial judge elevated to the appeals court from Colorado since 1985.

•  If he’s confirmed, the person next in line to be Colorado’s chief federal judge is Regina M. Rodriguez, a Joe Biden appointee.

•  However, the nomination comes as Domenico is letting dozens of immigration petitions sit on his docket without action. Colorado Politics compared Domenico’s caseload over an eight-month period with those of four other district judges. Domenico has ruled in fewer cases, taken far longer to do so, and has granted fewer petitions for those seeking release from immigration detention.

State Supreme Court news

•  Colorado’s justices declined to say whether a defendant is unconstitutionally convicted of an attempted child sex offense, and only concluded that any violation wasn’t obvious.

•  The Supreme Court appeared reluctant to reverse a defendant’s vehicular eluding conviction even though the jury instructions misstated the law.

•  The justices agreed that a Douglas County judge misunderstood his ability to allow for the discovery of evidence prior to deciding an eminent domain case.

•  The court weighed whether a corporate plaintiff could pursue claims that the defendant committed fraud in inducing it to sign a contract, in addition to claims for breaching the contract itself.

Heard on appeal

•  Municipal camping bans don’t violate the Colorado Constitution, the Court of Appeals decided.

•  Even though a couple had a signed, notarized agreement saying they were common law married, it didn’t mean they were actually married, the Court of Appeals concluded.

•  Impact fees on “new development” aren’t solely applicable to construction on empty land.

•  A judge mistakenly allowed a cold case defendant to be prosecuted as an adult for a crime he committed as a juvenile, but the Court of Appeals concluded that his guilty plea meant he couldn’t challenge the error.

In federal news

•  The 10th Circuit held a rare all-judges’ oral argument to review a recent precedent-setting decision that laid out the process for resentencing probation violators. Both the defense and the government believe the underlying decision doesn’t reflect Congress’s intent, and they are advocating for the full court to overrule it.

•  For the second time, the 10th Circuit dismissed the hostile work environment claims of a former prison employee who was offended at an online equity training module.

•  The 10th Circuit also heard oral arguments about a challenge to Jeffco Public Schools’ policy for assigning rooms to students on overnight trips.

•  A federal judge determined that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement violated his earlier order requiring the agency to follow the law when making warrantless arrests, and he has now imposed new training and disclosure requirements.

Vacancies and appointments

•  The governor appointed Magistrate Donald P. Delaney to fill a newly created seat on the Larimer County Court.

•  The governor also selected Arapahoe County Court Judge A. Danielle Touart to fill a new seat on the 18th Judicial District Court.

•  Finally, the governor named public defender Sean J. Lacefield as a judge on the Weld County District Court to fill a newly created seat.

•  There are three finalists to fill a newly created judgeship in the 17th Judicial District (Adams and Broomfield counties): Boulder County Magistrate Thomas M. Ward, Adams County Court Judge Marques Alexander Ivey and Lochlin Isaac Slifkin Rosen.

•  Applications are due by June 4 to succeed Adams County Court Judge Courtney L. Dinnel, who is leaving to fill a seat on the Mesa County Court.

Miscellaneous proceedings

•  Longtime Denver County Court Judge Andre Rudolph died unexpectedly on Friday at age 59.

•  “He walked into every room and filled it with his presence, his laugh, his generosity of spirit. As a jurist, he demonstrated every day that the administration of justice is not an abstraction, but a practice carried out with integrity, fairness, and deep humanity. He believed that judges who are present in their communities are better judges, and he lived that belief without exception.” —Presiding Judge Kerri Lombardi