boulder county
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Boulder County residents cannot sue over firearm discharge on federal land, appeals court rules
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that two residents of Boulder County could not sue the county’s commissioners for walking back a policy originally banning firearms discharge on nearby land owned by the U.S. government. Boulder County leaders enacted a resolution in 2022 expanding the area near Sugarloaf Mountain in which it was unlawful to…
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Federal judge partially allows challenge to proceed against gun ordinances in Boulder County
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A federal judge on Thursday permitted firearm owners and two gun-rights organizations to proceed with their constitutional challenge to certain provisions of gun safety ordinances enacted by Boulder County and three of its municipalities. Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, the National Association for Gun Rights and five individual Coloradans filed suit in 2022 over local firearms…
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Appeals court reminds judges to advise defendants of rights prior to virtual sentencings
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Colorado’s second-highest court reminded trial judges on Thursday that they must advise criminal defendants of their right to appear in person before imposing a sentence virtually. A Boulder County jury convicted Levi Valles in November 2022 of multiple offenses, but Valles experienced a severe medical emergency prior to sentencing. Consequently, he was unable to appear…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases on parole revocation, debt collection
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The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced it will decide whether people must appeal their revocation of parole to the parole board itself, or if they can seek judicial review directly. At least three of the seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. The justices also will decide whether a debt collection company…
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Divided Colorado Supreme Court: Criminal trial livestreams not enough to satisfy public trial right
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A slim majority of the Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday that livestreaming criminal proceedings without also opening the physical courtroom to spectators may violate the constitutional guarantee of a public trial. Addressing an issue that arose during the early COVID-19 pandemic, the justices considered whether it was acceptable for trial judges to restrict their…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear case about relevance of consensual bondage activity
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will review whether evidence of a defendant’s recent plans for BDSM activity with his alleged victim was relevant to his theory that he did not intend to cause serious bodily injury. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take up a case…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases on police interrogation, mid-trial appeal
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The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced it will determine whether a convicted defendant should receive a new trial after detectives interrogated him without probable cause and while executing a narrow order to obtain his DNA. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take up a case on appeal. The justices also…
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Federal judge permits completion of Denver Water dam work, citing safety concerns
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Although she stood by her prior determination that the project permit was unlawful, a federal judge last week decided construction on a major Denver Water infrastructure project should continue for safety reasons. Earlier this spring, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Christine M. Arguello found that, as a result of federal law violations, the expansion of Gross…
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Colorado’s new ‘reasonable doubt’ instruction upheld, despite cautions from some appeals judges
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Colorado’s second-highest court has upheld the recently reworded definition of “reasonable doubt” that appears in the template jury instructions for criminal trials, which generated controversy at the time of its debut. In a pair of precedent-setting opinions issued the same day last week, two separate panels for the Court of Appeals found no legal deficiency…
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Colorado Supreme Court green-lights lawsuit over climate change impacts to Boulder County
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The Colorado Supreme Court permitted Boulder County and the city of Boulder on Monday to proceed with their lawsuit against two fossil fuel corporations over alleged local harms caused by the effects of climate change. By 5-2, the Supreme Court concluded federal law did not preclude the local governments from raising state-level claims of nuisance,…