child welfare
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Colorado Supreme Court questions 2020 change to child neglect laws
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The Colorado Supreme Court pondered on Tuesday what the legislature meant to happen when it changed the state’s child neglect laws in 2020 to require more than a positive drug test at birth to deem a child neglected. The debate centered on the wording lawmakers chose to replace the previous condition that a child is neglected when…
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Following 10th Circuit reversal, federal judge agrees man may sue Douglas County child caseworker
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After the Denver-based federal appeals court found she improperly dismissed the lawsuit, a federal judge last week agreed that a father’s claims may proceed against a Douglas County child welfare worker who allegedly violated his constitutional rights while investigating suspected child abuse. Originally, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney dismissed the due process and…
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Colorado justices say child welfare workers not required to give Miranda warning before interrogating parents
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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that child welfare workers are not required to give a Miranda warning to parents before interrogating them in custody, even if the interview or the notes will later be shared with prosecutors and used against the parent at trial. Miranda warnings, named after the landmark U.S. Supreme Court…
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10th Circuit reinstates constitutional rights lawsuit against Douglas County child welfare workers
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The federal appeals court based in Denver reinstated a father’s lawsuit on Thursday against two Douglas County child welfare workers, who allegedly violated his constitutional rights in their investigation of suspected child abuse. A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit noted a trial judge had previously dismissed the lawsuit…
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Colorado Supreme Court wary of requiring child welfare workers to give Miranda warnings prior to interrogations
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court seemed hesitant on Wednesday to endorse the idea that child welfare workers must provide a Miranda warning before interrogating a parent in custody, even if the conversation will later be used in a criminal prosecution. The state’s Court of Appeals previously upheld the murder convictions of two men, both…
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El Paso County judge wrongly revoked father’s jury trial in child neglect case, appeals court finds
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that an El Paso County judge wrongly revoked a father’s choice of a jury trial in his child neglect case because the man had failed to appear two years earlier for a separate proceeding. Under Colorado law, parents have the right of a jury trial to determine whether a…
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Colorado Supreme Court takes up 6 cases on involuntary intoxication, malicious prosecution, child neglect trials
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday it will hear appeals in six cases, including the question of whether a person can claim he knowingly ingested one substance that was secretly laced with another behavior-altering substance as a defense to criminal charges. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to grant an…
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Divided appeals court takes no issue with lack of child welfare services to incarcerated father
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that even if a child welfare caseworker could have rehabilitated a father by facilitating visitation time and drug treatment while he was incarcerated, the lack of services was excusable because the man likely would not have taken advantage of them anyway. By 2-1, a three-judge panel of the Court…
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Colorado Supreme Court finds judge wrongly disclosed report about troubled child welfare office
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A Washington County judge should not have disclosed a report about potential misconduct in the local child welfare agency to the state office charged with investigating the child protection system, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. In addition to finding that District Court Judge Charles M. Hobbs had already given up his jurisdiction over…
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Child neglect rulings in 3 cases reversed by Colorado appeals court
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday determined judges in Montrose and Mesa counties improperly ruled against parents in child welfare cases, with one judge being the subject of two reversals. Weeks earlier, Montrose County District Court Judge D. Cory Jackson was reversed a third time by the Court of Appeals because he denied a woman’s request for…
