adams county
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear cases about ‘reasonable doubt’ definition, contract dispute
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that it will decide whether the definition of “reasonable doubt” adopted in a 2023 revision to the template jury instructions violates the constitutional rights of the criminally accused. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. The justices will also…
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Appeals court overturns Adams County drug convictions due to unconstitutional police conduct
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Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a man’s drug convictions and 25-year prison sentence on Thursday after concluding two Northglenn police officers unconstitutionally transformed a traffic stop into a drug investigation without reasonable suspicion of a crime. Clifton E. McRae, who was originally stopped for making an illegal turn, repeatedly declined to consent to a search of…
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10th Circuit, 2-1, rules ignoring emergency signal from jail detainees is clear constitutional violation
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The Denver-based federal appeals court concluded on Monday that a jail employee can violate a detainee’s clear constitutional rights by ignoring an emergency distress signal, even if there is no further information about what kind of emergency exists. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed Ralph Marcus Hardy…
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Adams County assault conviction overturned for improper testimony
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Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a man’s assault conviction and seven-year prison sentence last week, concluding an Adams County judge admitted improper testimony from a nurse who documented the victim’s account. After the alleged assault, the victim went to a hospital by ambulance. She spoke to an emergency medical technician about her injuries, which was recorded…
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Appeals court says custody dispute must terminate if one parent dies
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Colorado’s second-highest court clarified last month that an unresolved custody dispute must terminate when one parent dies, with the surviving parent automatically receiving custody. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel determined it was a mistake to allow an Adams County custody case between a mother and father to continue after the mother’s death, with the…
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Appeals court rejects allegations of racial discrimination in jury selection in 2 cases
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last month that prosecutors in two cases did not engage in intentional racial discrimination when they dismissed two women of color from the jury pool. Under longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, purposeful race-based discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional. Normally, parties may exercise “peremptory strikes” of jurors without citing a reason.…
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Colorado justices say judge had no grounds to order defendant to turn over info to prosecution
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The Colorado Supreme Court agreed on Monday that a trial judge had no authority to order a defendant to give the prosecution a preview of what his expert witness would say at a hearing to challenge his murder convictions. In contrast to direct appeals of criminal convictions, defendants may pursue postconviction relief in the trial courts for…
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Appeals court says requirement that parents be ‘present’ during child interrogations does not mean ‘attentive’
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that the requirement for parents to be present when police interrogate their child in custody means only that the parent must be “physically present,” not “mentally present” as well. Under the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona, law enforcement is required to inform a suspect of their rights…
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Colorado Supreme Court says license plate corresponding to other vehicle is grounds for stopping driver
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An Adams County deputy’s discovery that the license plates on a vehicle were registered to another car provided him the reasonable suspicion required to detain the driver, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. However, the justices stopped short of deeming the subsequent vehicle search constitutional, as the trial judge had not yet evaluated whether…
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Appeals judge suggests legislature clarify law providing compensation to exonerated defendants
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A member of Colorado’s second-highest court suggested last month that lawmakers clarify whether defendants are only supposed to be eligible for compensation when they are innocent of the specific crime they were convicted of, even if there is evidence their conduct still amounted to a different crime. In 2013, the legislature passed the Exoneration Act,…
