carlos samour
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State Supreme Court clarifies how defendants may ask government to return their property
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The Colorado Supreme Court provided guidance on Monday for how convicted criminal defendants may ask law enforcement to return their property seized as part of an investigation. Previously, the state’s Court of Appeals had offered conflicting instructions about whether a judge overseeing a criminal case has the ability to order the return of a defendant’s…
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Appeals court finds no problem with sleeping juror at Arapahoe County trial
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Colorado’s second-highest court last week saw no problem with an Arapahoe County judge’s lack of further inquiry after the defendant’s lawyer claimed she saw a juror sleeping through the defense’s closing arguments. Although Amber A. Threlkel’s lawyer alleged one juror was “sleeping throughout a significant portion of my closing argument” at Threlkel’s 2019 trial, District…
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State Supreme Court hears cases on sleeping juror, ‘straw purchase’ law
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The Colorado Supreme Court traveled to Colorado Springs to hear two cases on Thursday, exploring whether a sleeping juror implicated a defendant’s constitutional right to a jury of 12, and whether there was sufficient evidence to convict a woman for violating the state law that prohibits “straw purchases” of firearms. Oral arguments at Pine Creek…
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State Supreme Court mulls whether right to counsel differs by defendants’ wealth
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The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Sixth Amendment to guarantee criminal defendants the right to effective assistance from an attorney and the right to hire the counsel of their choosing if they can afford it. Indigent defendants, by contrast, currently have no right to choose which lawyer is appointed for them. But now, Colorado’s…
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Divided state Supreme Court says judges cannot review discipline of judicial workers
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In an extraordinary decision pitting one part of the state’s judicial branch against another part, the Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday, by 4-3, that trial judges are not permitted to hear disciplinary appeals involving judicial employees – an option afforded to other government workers. The majority of justices believed the court system’s personnel rules made…
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From ‘eccentric’ family to pandemic-era justice: Maria Berkenkotter ceremonially sworn in to Supreme Court
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Justice Maria E. Berkenkotter poked gentle fun at the unusually large gap between her first day on the job in January 2021 and her public swearing-in nearly 21 months later. “Thank you all so much for being here to celebrate the 633rd-day anniversary of my appointment,” Berkenkotter said to laughter during her late-September ceremony. Gov.…
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State Supreme Court rules judge properly barred defendant’s wife from courtroom
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Even though an Arapahoe County judge made no mention of longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent on courtroom closures when he decided to exclude a defendant’s wife from the majority of her husband’s criminal trial, Colorado’s highest court has decided, 6-1, the banishment was nevertheless proper. The Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants a public trial, and…
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When is a mayor not a mayor? Supreme Court ponders term limits amendment
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Nearly three decades after Colorado voters enacted term limits for local officeholders, the state Supreme Court is debating whether the law is so strict as to prevent Thornton’s first-term mayor from occupying that position. The justices’ interpretation could have repercussions statewide, affecting municipalities whose mayor and city council makeup mirrors that of Thornton. The Colorado…
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State Supreme Court continues to ponder headaches of DUI ruling
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Colorado’s Supreme Court justices this week once again heard about the difficulties they created by upending prosecutions of felony drunk driving cases nearly two years ago. Although driving under the influence in Colorado is typically a misdemeanor, the legislature in 2015 established a felony DUI offense for people who have at least three prior drunk…
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Technical difficulties, constitutional rights at center of Colorado Supreme Court parental case
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared leery on Tuesday of concluding a father experienced a violation of his constitutional rights when a Jefferson County judge terminated the legal relationship with his child. There was no dispute that the man, identified as R.B., had notice of the hearing and a lawyer who advocated on his…
