conflict of interest
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Colorado justices tell Arapahoe County judge to reconsider disqualification of law firm from case
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday directed an Arapahoe County judge to reconsider his prior decision to remove a law firm from a civil lawsuit due to a conflict of interest. In an unsigned Sept. 8 order, the justices laid out specific issues the judge needed to examine before concluding that the work an attorney…
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Colorado justices say conflicted lawyer not OK, but automatic reversal not required for defendant
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court agreed on Monday it was highly problematic that an El Paso County defense lawyer seemingly failed to tell his client he was simultaneously being prosecuted by the same district attorney’s office, but a majority stopped short of finding the conflict merited an automatic reversal of the defendant’s convictions. Matthew…
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‘Pretty shocking’: Colorado justices review case where defendant’s lawyer was also being prosecuted
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared hesitant last week to endorse automatic reversal of an El Paso County defendant’s convictions because he was seemingly unaware his lawyer was simultaneously being prosecuted by the same district attorney’s office. However, some justices agreed the system failed to adequately protect the rights of Matthew Rodolfo Vansant Lopez from…
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Appeals court reinstates Denver sex assault convictions in 12-year-old case
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Following a rare appeal by the prosecution, Colorado’s second-highest court last month reinstated a defendant’s sexual assault convictions, reversing a judge’s order for a new trial based on the alleged ineffectiveness of defense counsel. Stephen J. Ahuero’s criminal case, which began in 2012, previously reached both the Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court.…
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10th Circuit finds no constitutional, antitrust violations by Calhan officials with RV ordinances
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Members of a prominent family who served in the town of Calhan’s government did not commit constitutional or antitrust violations by adopting a series of restrictions on recreational vehicle parks that did not apply to their family’s own facility, the federal appeals court based in Denver ruled this month. Although a trial judge previously suggested…
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New faces, new approach: Charlotte Sweeney talks about transformation of Colorado’s federal court
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In just two years, the Biden administration appointed four – soon to be five – judges to Colorado’s seven-member federal trial court. One of them spoke on Friday about how she and the other new members are taking a different approach to the job. “It certainly seems like we’re moving back to being out more in the…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear case of conflicted judge
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When a judge took office in Saguache County four years ago, she presided over a criminal case in which she previously, as a public defender, had appeared briefly on behalf of the defendant. No one raised a red flag at the time. Now, the Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to review a split decision from…
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Appeals court orders new trial after discovery that judge previously represented defendant
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The revelation that a Saguache County judge presided over a man’s trial despite representing him briefly as a public defender before her appointment prompted the state’s second-highest court to overturn the conviction and order a new trial on Thursday. By 2-1, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals believed Donald L. Garcia had not…
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Federal judge finds no improper influence on case from colleague’s financial conflict
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A federal judge has found his colleague’s undisclosed financial conflict of interest had no influence over the ruling in a debt collection lawsuit against Wells Fargo. U.S. District Court Senior Judge John L. Kane, without prompting from any party to the lawsuit, issued a decision on Friday following his independent review of Dennis Obduskey’s 2015…
