Author: Michael Karlik
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Colorado Supreme Court upholds police search of car based on arm movements
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The Colorado Supreme Court decided last week that Denver officers’ search of a vehicle was constitutional, based on their perception of the occupants’ arm movements that a trial judge found to not be credible. Officers Keegan Grubb and Richard Eberharter were patrolling West Denver one night in February 2025. Their purpose was to make “as…
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10th Circuit tosses Pueblo County sheriff defendants’ appeal in fatal shooting lawsuit
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The Denver-based federal appeals court rejected an attempt from Pueblo County sheriff’s employees on Wednesday to rely on their own version of the facts to escape liability for fatally shooting an unarmed man outside a middle school. A trial judge ruled last year that the defendants were not entitled to qualified immunity, a judicially created…
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Colorado justices uphold strict interpretation of consumer protection law against debt collector
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The Colorado Supreme Court concluded last month that a debt collector failed to comply with state law by suing a woman for an unpaid credit card debt without documentation that it owned her account. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC filed a complaint to collect on a $671 debt from the credit card account of Felicia Wright.…
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Colorado justices say judges can nearly eliminate parenting time without it being a ‘restriction’
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The Colorado Supreme Court concluded last month that judges can reduce the number of days a parent spends with their child post-divorce to just above zero without it rising to the level of a “restriction” that requires more rigorous justification under the law. While all members of the court agreed that a judge’s decision to…
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Colorado Springs may be sued for faulty intersection, state Supreme Court rules
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The Colorado Supreme Court decided last month that Colorado Springs can be sued over a collision that occurred as a result of traffic lights that were functioning normally in one direction, but were inoperative in the perpendicular direction. The question for the Supreme Court was whether the traffic arrangement provided “conflicting” signals to plaintiff Bernard…
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Internal appeals of parole revocation must come before judicial review, Colorado justices conclude
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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled last month that criminal defendants whose parole is revoked must appeal the decision internally to the state’s parole board before seeking review by a judge. The process for returning someone to incarceration for violating the conditions of their parole first entails a hearing by one member of the Colorado State…
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Judge approves injunction for Colorado Springs counselor after SCOTUS rules in conversion therapy case
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A federal judge last week blocked Colorado from enforcing its restriction on conversion therapy for LGBTQ children against a Colorado Springs counselor, after both sides agreed that the state will not pursue professional disciplinary action while the case proceeds. The formalization of a preliminary injunction came days after one appellate judge argued that the Denver-based…
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Colorado Supreme Court to decide whether out-of-state defendant may be prosecuted for in-state crime
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The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced that it will decide whether Douglas County prosecutors had grounds to pursue criminal charges against a woman in New York whose conduct occurred outside of Colorado. Erin Brennan and her children lived in New York, and her ex-husband moved to Colorado after their divorce. In 2022, she proposed a…
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Colorado justices, 4-2, say defendant cannot be retried after judge rejected jury’s partial acquittal
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If a jury clearly indicates that it has acquitted a defendant of certain charges while remaining deadlocked on others, judges must accept that partial acquittal verdict, a divided Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. Justice William W. Hood III, in the June 8 majority opinion, acknowledged that judges ordinarily may not ask a deadlocked jury…
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Legislature overrules state Supreme Court decisions, federal judges contend with violations of orders | COURT CRAWL
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Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. The Colorado legislature overruled two recent state Supreme Court decisions in this year’s session, plus federal judges are addressing the government’s violations of their orders in immigration detention cases. Supreme Court news • By 5-2, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed that…