courtroom closure
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Appeals court reverses murder conviction after Denver judge violated public trial right
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Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a defendant’s murder conviction on Thursday because a Denver judge violated his constitutional right to a public trial. Due to an unusually large jury pool at Edward R. Sandoval’s 2022 trial, Chief Judge Christopher J. Baumann did not allow observers to be present in his courtroom during jury selection. Although the…
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Divided Colorado Supreme Court: Criminal trial livestreams not enough to satisfy public trial right
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A slim majority of the Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday that livestreaming criminal proceedings without also opening the physical courtroom to spectators may violate the constitutional guarantee of a public trial. Addressing an issue that arose during the early COVID-19 pandemic, the justices considered whether it was acceptable for trial judges to restrict their…
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Alamosa County judge violated public trial right, prompting reversal of convictions
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An Alamosa County judge closed his physical courtroom to the public without documenting his reasons for doing so, prompting Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday to reverse the defendant’s convictions and order a new trial. In reaching its decision, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeals pointed to a recent ruling from the appellate court that recognized…
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Alamosa County judge violated public trial right, prompting reversal of convictions
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An Alamosa County judge closed his physical courtroom to the public without documenting his reasons for doing so, prompting Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday to reverse the defendant’s convictions and order a new trial. In reaching its decision, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeals pointed to a recent ruling from the appellate court that recognized…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear 2 cases on pandemic-era trial livestreaming
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Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic first took hold in Colorado, the state Supreme Court announced on Monday it will review the constitutionality of two judges’ decisions to bar spectators from their courtrooms and instead rely upon livestreaming during a pair of criminal trials. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear 2 cases on pandemic-era trial livestreaming
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Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic first took hold in Colorado, the state Supreme Court announced on Monday it will review the constitutionality of two judges’ decisions to bar spectators from their courtrooms and instead rely upon livestreaming during a pair of criminal trials. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear 2 cases on pandemic-era trial livestreaming
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Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic first took hold in Colorado, the state Supreme Court announced on Monday it will review the constitutionality of two judges’ decisions to bar spectators from their courtrooms and instead rely upon livestreaming during a pair of criminal trials. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear…
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Appeals court says trial judges may retroactively justify excluding public from courtrooms
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In a move that potentially tees up the question for the state Supreme Court to resolve, Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday ruled that judges who exclude members of the public from trial on questionable grounds may have the opportunity to justify their actions on appeal. The Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the right to a…
