carlos samour
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State Supreme Court weighs whether new trial necessary for school that deceived, harmed students
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After a four-week trial in 2017, a Denver judge issued a 160-page order detailing the numerous ways a now-shuttered technical school violated Colorado’s consumer protection laws by deceiving students into thinking they would make substantially more money or find jobs in their field – when the opposite was often true. But in 2021, the state’s Court…
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State Supreme Court says judges may not force mediation in criminal cases
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Resolving a question it had never addressed before, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that trial judges may not order the parties in a criminal case to participate in mediation to potentially reach a plea agreement. Although prosecutors and defendants can voluntarily decide to sit down with a neutral third party and discuss how…
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Appeals court forges ahead on child prostitution question after Supreme Court takes a pass
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Weighing in on a question the Colorado Supreme Court recently left for “another day,” the state’s Court of Appeals decided last week that prosecutors need only prove a defendant knowingly arranges for a child’s prostitution and not that he specifically intends for the child to be prostituted. In addressing the subtle, but meaningful, distinction, a…
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Divided state Supreme Court says juries may hear defendants’ drunk driving histories
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A majority of the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that juries must learn about a defendant’s prior drunk driving offenses at the same time they hear the current allegations of drunk driving, over the strenuous objection of three justices who said the move all but ensures a conviction will occur. By 4-3, the Supreme…
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By 4-3, state Supreme Court blocks probable cause hearings for class of defendants
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Even though all parties agreed John Robert Hacke will receive a mandatory prison sentence if convicted of identity theft, a majority of the Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday that Hacke is not eligible for a hearing where he can challenge prosecutors’ evidence of probable cause. By 4-3, the Supreme Court found the requirement in…
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State Supreme Court faults defendant for not objecting to sleeping juror
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If a criminal defendant had a problem with the juror who repeatedly fell asleep during his trial, he should have objected to it, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. The justices reached that conclusion even after acknowledging all parties at Elliott J. Forgette’s burglary trial were aware of the sleeping juror and Forgette’s defense…
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Prosecutors, defense lawyers blindsided by new ‘reasonable doubt’ instruction
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Colorado’s prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys were caught off guard on Friday by a small judicial committee’s quiet change to the longstanding definition of “beyond a reasonable doubt” in the template instructions for jury trials. While prosecutors appeared cautiously supportive of the rewrite, defense lawyers condemned the sudden move. The Model Criminal Jury Instructions Committee,…
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Appeals court clarifies boundaries of restitution orders, return of seized property
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After two criminal defendants with convictions more than a decade old filed challenges implicating a pair of recent Colorado Supreme Court rulings, the state’s Court of Appeals has now filled in the gaps on the process for ordering restitution to victims and for reclaiming property seized by law enforcement. Two separate appellate panels took the…
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State Supreme Court takes up cases on fishing rights, defamation, late-filed insurance claims
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Colorado’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear three cases on appeal, implicating private ownership of riverbeds throughout the state, liability for statements that attorneys make publicly about their cases, and the ability of homeowners to pursue insurance claims filed outside of their policy’s deadline. It takes the consent of three of the court’s seven members…
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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…
