Competency Evaluation
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Appeals court tosses man’s convictions after Denver judge relied on expired pandemic-era law to violate speedy trial deadline
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A Denver judge mistakenly used an expired provision of state law to extend a defendant’s speedy trial deadline, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday in overturning the man’s convictions and 34-years-to-life prison sentence. As part of the constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial, Colorado law generally requires the government to bring a defendant to trial…
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Divided Colorado Supreme Court rules government can re-evaluate juvenile defendants without court order
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The Colorado Supreme Court, by 5-2, ruled on Monday that the state may rely upon its evaluation of a juvenile defendant who was previously found not competent to proceed, even though the evaluation happened without a judge’s order. The clarification took on significance because of a 2023 law that enacted protections for juveniles who receive…
