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Colorado Supreme Court rejects expanded role for juries in analyzing prior convictions
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected the argument that juries should be the ones who increase the severity of a defendant’s convictions by evaluating prior convictions – meaning judges alone retain the authority to transform a misdemeanor into a felony in some instances. The question of whether juries should decide beyond a reasonable doubt whether…
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Colorado Supreme Court rules domestic violence treatment is not ‘punishment’
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Domestic violence treatment imposed after a criminal conviction is not “punishment,” the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday, meaning that judges alone can determine whether a crime amounts to domestic violence. Justice Richard L. Gabriel explained in the June 12 opinion that while state lawmakers have not specified whether a finding of domestic violence is…
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Colorado Supreme Court ponders role of juries in evaluating prior convictions
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More than two years ago, when the Colorado Supreme Court found that juries, not judges, must decide if people accused of felony drunk driving are repeat offenders, it prompted defendants found guilty of other offenses to wonder whether their own prior convictions were something prosecutors must prove to juries beyond a reasonable doubt. In two…
