Author: Michael Karlik
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Colorado justices weigh DUI suspects’ right to refuse blood draw
The Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures means law enforcement must obtain a warrant or else rely on a specific exception to the warrant requirement, like the consent of the person being searched, to investigate a crime. But can Colorado law provide blanket consent for police to draw the blood of alleged drunk…
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Colorado justices tentatively agree that judges’ appearance of bias can matter in criminal appeals
Although members of the Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed unconvinced that an El Paso County judge should have recused herself from a case because she was previously the victim of a similar crime, the court was less receptive to the government’s position that a judge’s appearance of bias can almost never be grounds for…
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10th Circuit says Denver officers cannot be held liable for burning down woman’s home
The federal appeals court based in Colorado concluded on Monday that two Denver police officers cannot be held liable for burning down a woman’s home after they threw a teargas canister, not designed for indoor use, into her house and sparked a fire. A trial judge previously decided it was a jury’s job to say…
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SCOTUS puts end to Trump disqualification effort, state Supreme Court returns for arguments | COURT CRAWL
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. The U.S. Supreme Court clarified that Colorado and other states may not disqualify insurrectionist candidates for federal office using their elections procedures, and the state Supreme Court is back today to hold oral arguments. SCOTUS puts states in their place…
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10th Circuit warns employers against discriminatory DEI programming
The federal appeals court based in Denver sent up a warning flare to employers on Monday that diversity, equity and inclusion efforts can cross the line into illegal workplace discrimination, deeming certain race-conscious programming “troubling” and the product of “ideological messaging.” At the same time, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for…
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Colorado Supreme Court, 4-3, makes it easier for late-filed home insurance claims to proceed
The Colorado Supreme Court made it easier on Monday for homeowners to file damage claims with their insurance companies outside the deadline in their policies. By 4-3, the justices applied a rule they had previously extended to limited circumstances requiring insurers to show their ability to investigate and defend against a homeowner claim is harmed…
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Colorado Supreme Court identifies potential red flag in state’s sex offender sentencing law
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday suggested the 25-year-old law governing criminal sentences for sex offenders might run afoul of the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment when applied to juveniles serving lengthy terms of incarceration. The ultimate question of whether the Sex Offender Lifetime Supervision Act, or SOLSA, is unconstitutional in the case of…
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Q&A with Jeff Rupp | Judicial advocacy group’s director talks about common goals, differences with judicial branch
The Colorado Judicial Institute is a 45-year-old nonprofit originally founded to focus on the state’s relatively new system of appointing and retaining judges, which voters enacted to replace partisan judicial elections. Now, CJI’s work also includes advocating on behalf of the judiciary, informing the public about the courts and supporting the continuing education of judges.…
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Federal judge green-lights jury trial for Denver police response to 2020 protests
A federal judge decided earlier this month that a jury will evaluate whether the City and County of Denver and one Aurora police officer violated the constitutional rights of 13 plaintiffs who were injured during the police response to protests in downtown Denver in May 2020. In a pair of March 1 orders, U.S. District…
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Colorado Supreme Court committee votes to explore role of AI in practice of law
An advisory committee to the Colorado Supreme Court recently created a subcommittee that will evaluate existing rules barring the unauthorized practice of law to determine if changes are necessary to accommodate emerging artificial intelligence-powered legal tools. The March 1 vote of the Advisory Committee on the Practice of Law came at the request of the…