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Supreme Court justice, appeals judge spar over authority to decide issues | APPELLATE UPDATE
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One of Colorado’s Supreme Court justices and a member of the Court of Appeals debated on Friday about how far appellate judges should go when deciding cases using reasons that are different from the ones the litigants argued in court. Justice Richard L. Gabriel described the “party presentation principle” as stemming from the idea that…
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All about the ‘quandary’: Judges talk about when Colorado Supreme Court wades into federal cases
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For the most part, cases that are filed in state court proceed linearly through the state trial courts, appellate court and Supreme Court. Likewise, federal cases are heard by a federal trial judge, a federal appeals court and, on rare occasions, the nation’s highest court. But sometimes, when a federal case involves a question of…
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‘It’s fun’: Justice Melissa Hart joins counterparts in advocating for state supreme court clerkships
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Justice Melissa Hart spoke on Monday about what aspiring law clerks should consider when applying to work at the Colorado Supreme Court, including the ability to be involved in more than just screening appeals and drafting decisions. “I think people would be surprised to know — and I don’t know how much this is true in…
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Sentencing practices, jury pet peeves and more: Federal judges give peek behind the curtain
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At a gathering of federal judges and attorneys last week, one member of the bench disclosed that she has instituted a new practice of meeting with criminal defendants after they finish their incarceration to discuss their plans for success on supervised release. “It’s not an interview, it’s a dialogue,” said U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte…
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Colorado justices’ latest decision prompts questions about rules of the road for appellate judges
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Some appellate lawyers in Colorado are scratching their heads after a state Supreme Court ruling this week that avoided wading into the debate between LGBTQ protections and free speech rights, but nevertheless produced an equally heated dispute over process, fairness and the court’s adherence to its rules. On Tuesday, in a 4-3 opinion, the Supreme…
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Pulling back the curtain: Justice William Hood talks about appeals behind the scenes
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The Colorado Supreme Court is increasingly taking up appeals directly from the trial courts, said Justice William W. Hood III at a legal event in February, but lawyers still need to understand how to make a compelling argument for intervention. “You’d be surprised how often it’s just sort of hard to figure out what the…
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‘It never ends’: Colorado lawmaker hopes for justice as court considers retrial in son’s murder
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More than 18 years after Javad Marshall-Fields was killed, his mother, state Sen. Rhonda Fields, said she is still waiting for the fight for justice to end. Marshall-Fields and his fiancée, Vivian Wolfe, were murdered in Aurora in 2005. The two 22-year-olds were fatally shot days before Marshall-Fields was scheduled to testify as a witness to the 2004…
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Federal judge allows inmate to sue prison employee for causing him to miss SCOTUS appeal deadline
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A federal judge has agreed an incarcerated man can sue a prison employee for causing him to miss his deadline for filing a longshot challenge to his convictions with the U.S. Supreme Court, after the employee allegedly closed the facility’s library the day the petition was due. Last month, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N.…
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Appeals court tosses man’s conviction due to trial outside of legal deadline
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The state Court of Appeals has overturned a man’s criminal convictions and 4.5-year sentence because a Pueblo County judge and prosecutors failed to bring him to trial in time. Although the U.S. Constitution guarantees defendants the right to a speedy trial, Colorado law is more specific. If the government does not ensure that a defendant…
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Judge grants immunity to prison officials in lawsuit about overcrowding, showering
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Despite the reinstatement of an inmate’s civil rights lawsuit by the federal appeals court based in Denver, a trial judge has granted immunity to prison officials for the allegedly unconstitutional conditions they created in the case. U.S. District Court Judge Raymond P. Moore on Tuesday dismissed the claims of Larry Allen Thompson, who accused officials…
