berkenkotter
-
State Supreme Court reverses kidnapping conviction due to faulty instruction
It is not accurate to define kidnapping as any movement, “however short in distance,” the Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday, reversing a man’s conviction because a Gilpin County judge wrongly instructed the jury. Under the law, someone who commits kidnapping seizes and carries a person from one place to another without their consent. But…
-
Defendants may claim harassment in self-defense, state Supreme Court rules
People may assert that they committed harassment in self-defense, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday, finding that an Arapahoe County judge mistakenly failed to instruct a jury that they could acquit a tow truck driver if they believed he punched another motorist to defend himself. Under state law, the crime of harassment involves striking…