boulder county
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Municipal camping bans do not violate Colorado Constitution, says appeals court
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Municipal ordinances that ban people from living on public property do not violate the Colorado Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, the state’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel agreed that it was appropriate to rely on the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Eighth Amendment, which Colorado courts…
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Boulder County prosecutor improperly used defendant’s silence as guilt, appeals court finds
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Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a Boulder County defendant’s sexual assault conviction last week after concluding that a trial judge should have intervened to stop the prosecutor from inappropriately using the man’s constitutional right to silence to suggest he was guilty. Prosecutors charged Charles G. Higdon III with two counts of sexual assault. Jurors acquitted him…
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Appeals court upholds convictions despite juror’s dishonesty about criminal history
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Colorado’s second-highest court declined to order a new trial last week for a Boulder County defendant, despite a juror’s concealment of his own prior conviction until after the verdict. A jury found Kasey James Arrington guilty of kidnapping and sex-related offenses in 2022. Afterward, the defense alleged that multiple jurors had responded untruthfully during jury…
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Divided Colorado Supreme Court opens door to experts’ views on children’s truthfulness
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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that experts may, in certain situations, tell jurors whether child witnesses exhibited signs of being coached by adults, without running afoul of the general prohibition on witnesses testifying about the truthfulness of other witnesses. The majority in the 4-3 decision maintained that defendants will not “open the door”…
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Colorado justices confirm lawyers may ‘borrow’ allegations from elsewhere
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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that plaintiffs’ lawyers can use allegations made elsewhere to bolster their own clients’ claims, so long as the attorney first performs some degree of investigation into the “borrowed” assertions. Under Colorado’s rules for civil cases, attorneys must attest that the complaints they file are well-grounded in fact to…
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Colorado Supreme Court intervenes in 4 ongoing cases
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The Colorado Supreme Court recently moved to intervene in four ongoing cases, including two criminal prosecutions, a civil lawsuit, and a child welfare proceeding. At least four of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case outside of the normal appellate process. The issues raised before the justices include the ability of prosecutors…
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Colorado justices grill debt collector about compliance with law
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The Colorado Supreme Court repeatedly pressed a debt collection company last week to explain how its lawsuit against a Boulder woman for an unpaid credit card balance complied with the specific requirements that state lawmakers have created. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC filed a complaint to collect on a $671 debt from the credit card account…
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Colorado justices, by 5-2, say Longmont detective did not violate suspect’s Miranda rights
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The Colorado Supreme Court’s majority ruled on Monday that a Longmont detective did not coerce a suspect into talking by making references to how a judge would look at his character, and by suggesting he may get out of prison “in time to see your son’s prom.” Under the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Miranda…
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Colorado Supreme Court blocks ‘child-to-parent violence’ testimony in Boulder County case
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The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Friday that a Boulder County judge incorrectly green-lit a psychologist’s expert testimony when the defendant had not laid the necessary groundwork for the evidence. State law requires criminal defendants to provide notice and undergo a court-ordered examination if they want to introduce expert evidence of their mental condition at…
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Christopher Zenisek, trial judge experienced with high-profile cases | SUPREME COURT FINALISTS
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After the Marshall fire burned through Boulder County in the final days of 2021 and wound up destroying more than 1,000 homes, the sprawling 4,000-plaintiff litigation was assigned to District Court Judge Christopher Zenisek of Jefferson County. Zenisek would go on to issue more than 100 orders, hold dozens of hearings and, ultimately, much of…