assault
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Appeals court overturns assault conviction for lack of evidence defendant was ‘in custody’
Pueblo County prosecutors failed to prove a defendant was “in custody” at the time she allegedly assaulted a sheriff’s deputy, the state’s Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday in overturning the conviction. Alicia Antonia Martinez is serving a six-year sentence for allegedly striking a deputy with her vehicle as she evaded law enforcement. Prosecutors charged…
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10th Circuit reinstates inmate’s lawsuit against prison staff for alleged assault
The federal appeals court based in Denver has revived an inmate’s cruel and unusual punishment claim against two state prison personnel, finding Jabari J. Johnson had plausibly alleged the defendants exacerbated his existing injuries when they reportedly stomped on and slammed him. Johnson and the Colorado Department of Corrections had argued over whether the Prison…
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Appeals court clarifies defendants’ ability to access officers’ personnel files
Colorado’s second-highest court has clarified that criminal defendants are not automatically entitled to have a trial judge review and possibly release a police officer’s personnel file, but instead must show the request is factually relevant and not a “general fishing expedition.” Last month, the state’s Court of Appeals determined a La Plata County judge acted…
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Appeals court overturns domestic violence convictions, finds Denver judge violated law
A Denver judge did not follow the law when he sentenced a defendant as a habitual domestic violence offender instead of asking a jury to evaluate the man’s prior offenses, the state’s Court of Appeals ruled this month. Sheldon M. Ryan stood trial in 2018 for physically attacking his romantic partner, and a jury found…
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Appeals court orders new trial after Arapahoe County judge failed to instruct jury on self-defense
A man serving 16 years for assault and attempted manslaughter will receive a new trial after Colorado’s second-highest court determined an Arapahoe County judge failed to give jurors a required instruction about self-defense. The law entitles a defendant to such an instruction when there is some credible evidence they acted in self-defense. District Court Judge…
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Judges’ faulty instructions prompt appeals court to reverse convictions in 3 cases
Colorado’s second-highest court reversed convictions in three separate cases last month after the trial judges’ faulty instructions to jurors improperly lowered the burden of proof needed to secure a guilty verdict. In each instance, the Court of Appeals determined the defendants’ juries were unable to consider key parts of their defense to the criminal charges,…
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Appeals court reverses convictions after El Paso judge denied fair trial to defendant
An El Paso County judge misapplied the law and allowed harmful information to be heard at the defendant’s trial, Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last week in reversing the convictions of Israel Santillan Lopez. Further, the prosecution acknowledged Lopez was correct that District Court Judge Marcus Henson also omitted a key element of the crime of felony…
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Split appeals court rules Aurora police needed to give Miranda warning to road rage suspect
Colorado’s second-highest court has reversed a man’s assault convictions in Arapahoe County because police failed to provide a Miranda warning at the point when their interrogation effectively placed the defendant in custody. A panel of the Court of Appeals decided, by 2-1, that while Aurora police did not need to advise Terrence Kenneth Eugene of…
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Federal judge declines to dismiss inmate’s lawsuit against government over prison stabbing
An inmate has plausibly claimed government officials were negligent by failing to prevent a prison yard attack on him and also failing to intervene, a federal judge has ruled. David J. Martin was incarcerated at the U.S. Penitentiary in Florence on June 2, 2018, when his cousin snuck up behind him in the recreation yard and…
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Appeals court rules racist comments not proper evidence, overturns assault conviction
A Pueblo County judge should not have allowed jurors to hear about the racist comments a defendant made toward his friend hours before allegedly assaulting his godson, the state’s Court of Appeals decided on Thursday. Anthony Joseph Ianne’s case had already proceeded through a three-judge panel of the appellate court, which upheld his conviction last…