competency
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Gov. Jared Polis seeks $12M to house suspects declared incompetent
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Colorado is planning to invest up to $12 million to fund additional commitment beds for individuals declared incompetent to proceed to trial, Gov. Jared Polis has announced. In a recent news conference on the state budget, Polis announced plans to request $8 million to $12 million in general fund dollars for additional civil commitment beds…
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Parental rights group seeks to repeal competency law
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A group of parental rights advocates and Republican lawmakers is urging the Colorado legislature to repeal a 2024 law that made changes to the state’s competency procedures. Established over the summer, the group called We The Parents includes members of the Colorado Parental Advocacy Network and legislators from the more conservative wing of the Republican…
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Colorado’s competency backlog costs state millions each year, report finds
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Colorado’s growing competency backlog for criminal defendants is costing the state millions of dollars in fines each year and jeopardizing public safety, according to a new report by the think tank Common Sense Institute. The report, published on Thursday, found that inpatient competency evaluation orders have increased by 600% in the past 25 years, while…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear 2 Denver criminal appeals
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will decide whether the state’s second-highest court correctly overturned a defendant’s vehicular eluding conviction due to the faulty wording of a jury instruction. The justices also will review whether the Court of Appeals properly rejected an appeal by prosecutors that was filed beyond the procedural deadline,…
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Lawmakers overturn Colorado Supreme Court decision on juvenile competency evaluations
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Colorado lawmakers overturned a recent decision of the state Supreme Court in the final days of the legislative session, clarifying that the government cannot re-evaluate a juvenile defendant’s competency to proceed without a judge’s order. On April 14, the Supreme Court decided People in the Interest of J.D., in which an El Paso County juvenile defendant was deemed…
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Defendant’s ‘extreme religious beliefs’ did not render her incompetent, appeals court rules
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Colorado’s second-highest court decided last week that a defendant’s “extreme religious beliefs” did not render her incompetent to proceed, nor did they invalidate her decision to represent herself at trial. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals did not believe Ika Eden had any mental health issues that interfered with her ability to understand…
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El Paso County sex assault convictions overturned due to judge’s incorrect competency ruling
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Colorado’s second-highest court last month vacated a man’s 15-year-old convictions for sexually assaulting a child, finding an El Paso County judge made a flawed determination that the defendant was competent to stand trial. In doing so, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals cautioned it may not be feasible to determine now whether Theodore William…
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El Paso County sex assault conviction overturned after judge misapplied law
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Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a man’s sexual assault conviction last month after finding an El Paso County judge applied the wrong legal standard when assessing whether the defendant was competent to stand trial. Prosecutors charged Micheal Cochran with numerous sex-related offenses, but his defense attorney became concerned that Cochran was struggling to understand the charges,…
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Colorado appeals court recognizes right to effective counsel in forced-medication cases
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For the first time, Colorado’s second-highest court has recognized there is a right to effective assistance of counsel for people involved in criminal cases whom the government wishes to forcibly medicate. A three-judge panel relied on similar decisions from other states and the principle that involuntary medication proceedings can result in a loss of liberty,…
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Colorado Supreme Court clarifies juvenile defendants can immediately appeal competency findings
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When a magistrate decides whether a juvenile defendant is competent to stand trial, that determination is appealable to a judge right away, Colorado’s Supreme Court ruled on Monday. Addressing a question it had never before answered, the court acknowledged there would be significant consequences if a child were to proceed to trial despite actually being…
