batson
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Colorado Supreme Court rules, 5-1, against shifting explanations in race-based juror dismissals
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In accordance with the U.S. Supreme Court’s longstanding prohibition on intentional racial discrimination in jury selection, Colorado’s highest court ruled, 5-1, on Monday that trial judges may not consider after-the-fact explanations for dismissing jurors of color that were not raised at trial. The majority agreed that a new trial is warranted for Theodore Israel Madrid,…
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Appeals court finds no discrimination in Denver prosecutor’s removal of Black woman from jury
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday deemed it a “close” call, but ultimately decided Denver prosecutors had not removed a Black, presumably Muslim woman from a jury in violation of the longstanding prohibition on purposeful discrimination. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals noted that Juror L was a Black woman who wore a head…
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Justices critical of proposed racial bias rule supported by defense attorneys, trial judges
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Colorado’s Supreme Court justices gave a less-than-enthusiastic reception on Tuesday to a proposed rule that, if enacted, would aim to curb lawyers’ ability to remove people of color from criminal juries for reasons related to race. During a nearly three-hour hearing, prosecutors from across the state uniformly lined up to condemn the suggested change, with…
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Appeals court finds no racial discrimination in Black man’s dismissal from El Paso County jury
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday found no intentional racial discrimination at play when El Paso County prosecutors removed the only Black man from a Black defendant’s jury, after misrepresenting what he actually said during jury selection. Michael Ellis is serving a prison sentence of more than 200 years after a jury convicted him in 2019…
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Appeals court finds no discrimination in prosecutors’ removal of 2 Hispanic jurors
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Colorado’s second-highest court has declined to find Weld County prosecutors engaged in unconstitutional racial discrimination by dismissing two Hispanic men from serving on a Hispanic defendant’s jury. Jurors convicted Javier Hernandez-Martinez in 2018 on three drug distribution charges and he received a four-year prison sentence. On appeal, Hernandez-Martinez argued the prosecution violated the U.S. Supreme…
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Appeals court reverses murder conviction due to race-based juror dismissal
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A man serving a life sentence for murder will receive a new trial because an Arapahoe County judge improperly allowed prosecutors to remove a juror of color based on her race, Colorado’s second-highest court decided on Thursday. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized more than 30 years ago that intentional racial discrimination in jury selection is…
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State Supreme Court explores role of shifting explanations in race-based juror dismissals
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Over 30 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that purposeful racial discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional, requiring prosecutors to now cite a “race-neutral reason” if a defendant challenges their decision to remove a juror of color. This week, the Colorado Supreme Court considered a narrow question implicating that protocol: If an appeals court…
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Appeals court reluctantly agrees dismissal of Hispanic juror not a constitutional violation
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Despite its deep skepticism that Adams County prosecutors removed a Hispanic juror from a Hispanic defendant’s trial for reasons other than race, Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday nevertheless found the prosecution’s conduct did not amount to a violation of the constitutional prohibition on race-based dismissals. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals emphasized the…
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10th Circuit finds no discrimination after prosecutor dismissed all Hispanic jurors in trial
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The Denver-based federal appeals court concluded on Monday that a prosecutor who dismissed all the Hispanic members of a jury pool did not violate the longstanding prohibition against intentional racial discrimination in jury selection. A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit declined to grant a new trial for Jack…
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State Supreme Court opens comment period for jury bias proposal
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The Colorado Supreme Court has decided to take up a proposal addressing implicit racial bias in jury selection, opening a public comment period for rules that would curb the use of tactics historically used to exclude jurors of color. Previous efforts to address racial bias have faltered. Last year, the Supreme Court declined to advance…
