brian boatright
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Colorado Supreme Court’s frustration at state agency boils over in juvenile case
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court lashed out on Tuesday at the state agency responsible for overseeing certain mental and behavioral health services to juvenile defendants, accusing it of flouting the law. In an appeal out of Weld County, the justices amplified their frustration with the Office of Behavioral Health that previously surfaced in 2019,…
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State Supreme Court finds Mesa County trooper conducted unlawful search — again
For the second time in three months, the Colorado Supreme Court has agreed one state trooper working in Mesa County conducted an unlawful search of a vehicle in his attempt to apprehend drug traffickers. Colorado State Patrol Trooper Christian Bollen pulled over a rental Jeep on Interstate 70 for an allegedly unsafe lane change. The…
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State Supreme Court to examine foreclosure timeline, narrowly turns down DUI appeals
The Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to review a lower court’s ruling that banks and mortgage lenders argue gives an improper incentive to rapidly foreclose on certain homeowners. On Monday, the justices announced they will hear the case of U.S. Bank National Association v. Silvernagel, which centers on Colorado’s six-year statute of limitations for lenders to foreclose…
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Justices clarify standard for establishing identity in previous-offender cases
Colorado’s Supreme Court has clarified the level of evidence prosecutors must present to establish that a defendant who is charged with possession of a weapon by a previous offender does, in fact, have a prior felony conviction. In its ruling on Monday, the court decided there must be an “essential link” between the defendant and…
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State Supreme Court OK’s forced blood draws for DUI suspects
By a 6-1 decision on Monday, the Colorado Supreme Court determined state law permits police officers to obtain a warrant and forcibly draw blood from motorists who are suspected solely of driving drunk. Although the law currently enables law enforcement to draw blood in the absence of a warrant and without motorists expressing their consent…
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Justices say Adams County prosecutor’s comments do not require reversal of convictions
Although the Colorado Supreme Court has established that prosecutors cannot imply criminal defendants are guilty for exercising their Fifth Amendment right to silence or their Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial, the justices on Tuesday decided an Adams County prosecutor’s comments to a jury did not cross that threshold. In a case that centered…
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State Supreme Court says red doesn’t mean ‘only red’ in tail light law
Colorado’s law requiring vehicles to display red tail lights 500 feet to the rear does not mean red is the only acceptable color, the state Supreme Court ruled by 5-2 on Tuesday. In writing for the court’s majority, Justice Richard L. Gabriel noted that a hardline interpretation of the tail lamp law would enable officers…
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Judges, justices give candid look at judicial operations at educational conference
Six of Colorado’s seven Supreme Court justices and more than one-third of the state’s Court of Appeals on Friday provided a candid glimpse into judicial branch operations, with subjects ranging from pandemic recovery and recent precedent-setting decisions to the Supreme Court’s increased pattern of hearing appeals directly. Among the key points raised at the 2022 Appellate…
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State Supreme Court attempts to illuminate meaning of tail light law
Could drivers change their vehicles’ tail lights to match the Denver Broncos’ colors? Or emit a kaleidoscope of colors from their cars? Colorado’s Supreme Court on Thursday repeatedly raised those far-fetched scenarios as they grappled with the meaning of a state law governing tail lamp colors. As written, drivers must have “a red light plainly…
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Justices asked to endorse hybrid model of calculating parole eligibility
In an unusual display of unity before the Colorado Supreme Court, both the government and inmate Nathanael E. Owens agreed that he was entitled to have his parole eligibility date calculated in a way that would move his potential release date one year earlier. However, Owens asked the justices to go further and order the Colorado…