constitution
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Lifetime sex offender registration not ‘punishment,’ Colorado justices say
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The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday that lifetime sex offender registration is not cruel and unusual punishment because it is not “punishment.” At the same time, two members urged lawmakers to heed the advice of the Sex Offender Management Board and adopt a new, more accurate system of measuring a person’s risk of recidivism.…
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Appeals court reverses conviction after judge blocked questioning about witness’s criminal charges
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An Arapahoe County judge violated a defendant’s constitutional right to confront the witnesses against him by blocking the defense from asking a witness about her own pending criminal charges in the same jurisdiction, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week. Prosecutors charged Jose Garcia Valdivia with multiple counts of assault and felony menacing. Garcia allegedly got…
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10th Circuit upholds verdict against Denver, officer for protest-related violations
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The Colorado-based federal appeals court on Tuesday turned aside multiple challenges to a 2022 jury verdict that found Denver and one of its officers violated the constitutional rights of protesters and were liable for $14 million. In the first of many lawsuits culminating in a jury trial, 12 plaintiffs largely succeeded in arguing that Denver’s…
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Divided 10th Circuit takes no issue with surprise police encounter with suspect
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Police officers who unexpectedly encountered a Durango-area man while they were preparing to search his nearby home did not commit a constitutional violation by seizing his phone during the ensuing traffic stop, the Denver-based federal appeals court ruled last week. Kalub Sean Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography and received a…
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Colorado Supreme Court appears OK with revised ‘reasonable doubt’ instruction
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The Colorado Supreme Court appeared largely comfortable on Thursday with the recently revised definition of “reasonable doubt” that is now part of the template jury instructions for criminal cases. To date, multiple Court of Appeals decisions have endorsed the constitutionality of the new phrasing, which resembles the instruction given in Colorado’s federal trial court. U.S.…
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Colorado Supreme Court concerned about police overreach in interrogations
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Some members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared hesitant on Tuesday to endorse the ability of police to interrogate a suspect after they have obtained a court order authorizing only the collection of physical evidence. Under Colorado’s criminal rules, law enforcement may obtain an order for “nontestimonial identification,” allowing them to pursue a person’s fingerprints, blood specimen,…
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Colorado justices weigh constitutionality of unique disclosure requirement for ballot measures
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court considered on Tuesday whether a unique feature of the state’s campaign finance system categorically violates the First Amendment by requiring the disclosure of a ballot measure committee’s legal representative on advertisements. No on EE — A Bad Deal for Colorado was an issue committee in 2020 that opposed Proposition EE,…
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10th Circuit provides guidance on police searches of cloud-based data
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The Denver-based federal appeals court provided guidance to law enforcement agencies on Monday for ensuring that searches of cloud-based accounts comply with the Fourth Amendment’s requirements. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit noted that a search of information stored in the cloud is “categorically different” from searching an…
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Federal judge finds no constitutional violation by Huerfano County well inspectors
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A federal judge concluded last month that two Huerfano County employees did not engage in an unconstitutional search when they approached the plaintiffs’ camper within 40 feet to investigate a potential code violation. In July 2021, the county’s building inspector, Terry Sandoval, received a complaint about improper well construction on property designated for agricultural use.…
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Federal judge blocks evidence from Aurora police’s unconstitutional search
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A federal judge ruled last month that prosecutors cannot use firearm evidence against a defendant because Aurora police searched him without having any reasonable basis to believe he was armed and dangerous. In evaluating the constitutionality of the search, U.S. District Court Senior Judge William J. Martínez noted that police officers were called to a…