Author: Michael Karlik
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Gun scare disrupts Court of Appeals visit to Fort Lupton High School
A planned visit by Colorado’s second-highest court to Fort Lupton High School went awry on Tuesday after the sighting of two students with a firearm triggered a lockout that, in the judicial branch’s telling, could have been avoided if school administrators had temporarily suspended a game being played with toy guns. The state Supreme Court…
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Following SCOTUS decision, judge enters injunction against Colorado in 303 Creative case
Nine months after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision and nearly eight years after she first filed suit in Colorado’s federal trial court, web designer Lorie Smith received an injunction prohibiting the state from compelling her to create wedding websites for same-sex couples. In a March 26 order, U.S. District Court Chief Judge…
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Appeals court finds no race discrimination in El Paso County murder case
Colorado’s second-highest court concluded on Thursday that an El Paso County prosecutor did not intentionally remove the only Black juror from a Black defendant’s jury because of his race, even as he misrepresented the man’s responses to questioning. The Court of Appeals in multiple cases has waved aside the idea that a prosecutor’s erroneous statements…
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Appeals court upholds contempt for defendant who destroyed phone rather than hand it over to judge
Colorado’s second-highest court agreed last week that an Arapahoe County judge properly held a criminal defendant in contempt for breaking his own cell phone to avoid handing it over to the judge as directed. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals noted that even if the judge’s attempt to seize the phone was illegal, the…
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El Paso County domestic violence conviction reversed because of biased juror
Colorado’s second-highest court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of domestic violence-related offenses after acknowledging an unusual scenario in which the trial judge, prosecutor and defense attorney confused one juror for another, and neglected to dismiss the juror they all agreed was biased. An El Paso County jury convicted Cory James Wooldridge in…
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State Supreme Court interprets novel issues, campaign finance decisions handed down | COURT CRAWL
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. The state Supreme Court recently decided multiple issues it had never previously addressed, and the Court of Appeals handed down rulings involving campaign finance violations. Student searches, classic cars and more ? Colorado’s justices concluded Denver Public Schools officials acted reasonably…
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Judge allows ex-Aurora VA doc to proceed with employment discrimination case
A federal judge last month permitted a former anesthesiologist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Colorado to proceed with some of her employment discrimination claims, even though a different judge previously found the VA was justified in removing her. Elizabeth Schacht worked for the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora between 2015 and…
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U.S. judge declines to dismiss charges against West African man accused of torture in Gambia
A federal judge last month declined to dismiss multiple criminal charges in the unique prosecution of a West African man living in Denver, whose alleged acts of torture in his home country could violate U.S. law. Michael Sang Correa faces seven torture-related counts for his involvement in the investigation of an unsuccessful 2006 coup attempt…
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Appeals court warns against questioning service animals’ status based on ‘suspicions’
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday warned that public entities may not ask a disabled person to provide more information about their service animal than what federal regulations allow, regardless of whether they harbor “legitimate suspicions” about the animal’s status. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals determined it was a “close call” whether Dustin…
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Colorado appeals court upholds fine, requirement for ‘dark money’ group to disclose spending
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday agreed a group that spent $4 million backing conservative causes on the ballot in 2020 is required to disclose its contributions and spending, and pay a $40,000 fine for failing to register as an advocacy group. A trial judge previously believed Unite for Colorado, which spent roughly $17 million during…