Author: Michael Karlik
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Heavy docket: Study recommends Colorado’s second-highest court expand by 25% to handle workload | COVER STORY
In the past two years, Chief Judge Gilbert M. Román has presided over five swearing-in ceremonies for new judges on Colorado’s second-highest court. He has repeatedly opened with the same disclaimer about the 22-member Court of Appeals. “This is considered a heavy-docket court,” Román says. Numerically speaking, that amounted to 1,745 written opinions issued in the last…
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Polis, corrections director immune from man’s lawsuit over prison work program, appeals court rules
Gov. Jared Polis and the former director of the Colorado Department of Corrections are immune from an incarcerated man’s lawsuit for money damages over the state’s prison work program, the Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday. John Patrick Fletcher, who resides at Buena Vista Correctional Facility, sought roughly $2 million from Polis and Dean Williams,…
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Federal judge defends $3.5M verdict in disability discrimination case
A federal judge this month rejected an attempt by the Colorado Department of Corrections to slash a jury’s $3.5 million award to an incarcerated man who missed thousands of meals, defecated on himself and endured physical pain because prison officials did not accommodate his disability in violation of federal law. U.S. District Court Judge S.…
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Release hearing ordered for Aurora detainee held for 2 years in ICE custody
A federal judge earlier this month ordered a hearing to determine if a detainee in Aurora who has spent the last two years in immigration custody should be released during the remainder of her removal proceedings. More than two decades ago, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a noncitizen’s detention could be constitutionally unreasonable beyond six months.…
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Federal judge moderated DEI panel days before hearing arguments in Colorado DEI case
A judge on the federal appeals court based in Denver oversaw a panel discussion last year about the future of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the workplace while he had a case pending before him on the same subject. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit dismissed the employment discrimination…
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El Paso County man’s concerns of bias did not entitle him to forgo jury trial, appeals court rules
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled earlier this month that a defendant in El Paso County did not have the right to unilaterally choose a trial by judge, rather than trial by jury, amid concerns that jurors would not treat him fairly. Jonathan Yamar Best is serving 20 years to life in prison after a jury convicted…
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Divided appeals court says local governments may authorize noise limits exceeding state law
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled for the first time earlier this month that local governments may authorize noise permits for activities on private property that exceed the levels set in state law. By 2-1, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals concluded the state’s Noise Abatement Act allowed the city of Salida to issue outdoor…
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Eagle County convictions reversed for prosecutors’ misconduct
Colorado’s second-highest court reversed an Eagle County man’s convictions earlier this month because a trial judge permitted a pair of prosecutors – including one who is now running for district attorney – to misstate the law on self-defense to jurors. A jury acquitted Robert Fergus-Jean of more serious offenses like assault and attempted murder, but convicted him…
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10th Circuit judges weigh in on low number of trials, AI during law school appearance
Three judges on the Denver-based federal appeals court fielded questions from an audience of students on Tuesday about the low number of cases that ever make it to trial and the potential influence of artificial intelligence on the judiciary. Senior Judge David M. Ebel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit said he…
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Appeals judge trains fire on Colorado Supreme Court’s landmark restitution ruling
One member of Colorado’s second-highest court has mounted an unusual effort in recent weeks to broadcast his dissatisfaction with a state Supreme Court decision that resulted in scores of financial restitution orders to crime victims being overturned on appeal. In Colorado, when a convicted defendant is required to pay restitution, prosecutors typically must provide the…