Author: Michael Karlik
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Colorado justices clarify timeline for children injured in car accidents to sue
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday clarified that children who are injured in car accidents can file suit within three years of the collision or within two years of turning 18, whichever happens later. The justices addressed confusion about how state law, which lays out the whichever-is-later standard, applied to the Supreme Court’s own precedent,…
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Colorado Supreme Court permits Boulder prosecutors to use murder suspect’s statements to police
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that prosecutors in Boulder County may use a murder suspect’s statements to police as evidence because officers did not need to give the defendant a Miranda warning prior to asking about all of the blood on him. Brandon Mason Bohler stands accused of first-degree murder for fatally stabbing…
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State Supreme Court hears oral arguments, gun scare mars Courts in Community event | COURT CRAWL
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. The state Supreme Court returns this week for an unusually short oral arguments schedule, plus a visit by the state’s Court of Appeals to a Weld County high school experienced a gun-related interruption. A docket of 2 ? Tomorrow, the Supreme…
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Colorado Supreme Court signals intervention in Denver, Jeffco criminal cases
The Colorado Supreme Court indicated in recent weeks that it may intervene in two criminal cases to decide whether a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor in county court is entitled to halt his sentence while he appeals, and whether prosecutors established probable cause of another defendant’s child abuse charge. At least three of the court’s…
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Another federal judge calls on Congress to roll back SCOTUS limitation on suing federal officials
Two federal judges in Colorado have now taken the rare step of calling for Congress to roll back the U.S. Supreme Court’s broad limitations on suing federal officials for money when they violate plaintiffs’ constitutional rights. U.S. District Court Senior Judge Christine M. Arguello, in dismissing the claims of an incarcerated man who alleged federal prison…
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El Paso County child sex conviction vacated due to constitutional violation
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday overturned one of a man’s convictions for an attempted child sex offense in El Paso County after concluding two of his crimes involved the same conduct, punished differently. Colorado courts have interpreted the constitutional guarantee of equal protection to forbid the state from creating two laws that criminalize identical conduct,…
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Adams County conviction overturned after judge blocked questions about victim’s motive to testify
An Adams County judge blocked jurors from hearing about a victim’s own criminal charge and potential motive to testify the way prosecutors wanted, prompting Colorado’s second-highest court to find a constitutional violation and order a new trial for the defendant. A jury acquitted Semaj Reynolds-Wynn of attempted murder after a 2021 trial, but convicted him…
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10th Circuit dismisses Brighton church’s challenge to future public health orders
More than three years after a Weld County church filed suit challenging the constitutionality of Colorado’s public health response to COVID-19, the federal appeals court based in Denver has ruled the organization lacks standing to seek exemption to other hypothetical restrictions that may come in the future. Grace Bible Fellowship in Brighton was successful in…
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Title Board advances proposed constitutional amendment to raise threshold for judicial retention
The Title Board on Wednesday advanced a proposed constitutional amendment that would require at least 55% of voters to support a judge’s retention, rather than the simple majority that is needed currently. However, the change, if enacted, may have limited impact. Of the judges and justices who were retained in 2020 and 2022, none received less…
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Federal judge declines to intervene after state ‘intercepted’ Colorado man’s $3.5 million jury award
A federal judge on Thursday concluded he did not have the authority to intervene as Colorado performed an “administrative intercept” of the $3.5 million a jury awarded a plaintiff more than a year ago for violations of his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews acknowledged there might…