Author: Jenny Deam
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Judge: CBI ordered to provide access to thousands of DNA cases
Boulder County District Judge Nancy W. Salomone on Monday ordered the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to provide access to thousands of cases where past DNA analysis could be in question or show a pattern. The ruling came in a pre-trial hearing for Michael Clark who is standing trial for a second time in a 1994…
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Missy Woods pleads not guilty; trial set for fall
The former Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA expert charged with more than 100 felonies entered a plea of not guilty to all of them Wednesday in a packed Jefferson County courtroom. The plea was entered by her defense attorney Tom Ward. Yvonne Woods, who goes by the name Missy, was the state’s former top DNA…
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A year of developments in the CBI forensic lab scandal
As the scandal at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation forensic lab moved through its second year, a series of startling developments and revelations emerged with no clear end in sight and the full toll still unknown. At the heart of a scandal unlike any before in state history, is the state agency’s once most revered and prolific DNA scientist: Yvonne Woods. In January, after…
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Judge tosses request for JonBenet murder investigative materials
Boulder County District Judge Nancy Woodruff Salomone on Tuesday rejected a subpoena by Michael Clark’s defense attorney that sought the first 48 hours of police investigative records in the infamous 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey. Clark, 50, is facing a second trial in the 1994 murder of Marty Grisham. His lawyer earlier this month sought…
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Michael Clark murder defense seeks to link case to JonBenét investigation ‘mistakes’
In new legal filings, Michael Clark, now facing a second trial for a 1994 murder, seeks to link alleged Boulder police missteps in his case with the city’s most notorious cold case: JonBenét Ramsey. The unusual claim came within a flurry of 12 subpoenas to Boulder authorities seeking documents and other information connected to the…
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Boulder prosecutors to re-try man accused of murder; case part of CBI DNA scandal
Michael Clark, the man accused of a 31-year-old Boulder murder case but freed from prison on bail in April when his original conviction was set aside, will be tried for second time, a Boulder County prosecutor announced on Thursday. The decision comes after months of speculation on whether Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty, who…
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CBI scandal: Missy Woods arraignment delayed until late October
The legal case against Yvonne Woods, the former Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA scientist at the heart of a scandal that has engulfed the agency, was delayed on Monday until late October due to the sheer volume of material. Defense attorney Tom Ward asked to delay Woods’ arraignment for more than two months, citing nearly…
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‘All I ever wanted was a fair trial’: Colorado man Clayton Hood cleared in sex assault
Clayton Hood stood in the Douglas County Courthouse on June 6, breathing hard, his heart pounding, waiting for the judge to speak. The jury had just decided his case for a second time. Then came the words: “Not guilty.” Suddenly, everything seemed to blur. After being cleared on the first charge of sexual assault on…
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‘I felt this sense of peace’: Amid CBI lab scandal, Colorado man gives first interview since release from prison
Michael Clark awoke with a start at his usual time, just after 5 a.m., his eyes adjusting to the darkness, his brain gauging the surroundings that felt familiar yet also somehow foreign. What struck him most that first morning was the quiet. It had never been quiet in prison. The bang of guards’ heavy boots…
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Judge overturns first-ever minimum staffing requirement for nursing homes, including those in Colorado
A federal judge in Texas last month overturned the first-ever minimum staffing requirement at most of the nation’s nursing homes, including in Colorado — gutting what some call crucial safety and quality of care measures. On April 7, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled in a summary judgement that while “rooted in laudable goals,” the…