criminal justice
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Lawsuit alleges Polis administration is holding juveniles after court‑ordered release
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Colorado officials are facing a lawsuit alleging the state kept minors in juvenile detention for days or months after judges ordered them released, largely because appropriate foster or community placements were not available. Two minors facing juvenile delinquency charges sued Gov. Jared Polis and the director of the state’s Department of Human Services, alleging the…
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Colorado Democrats propose changes to juvenile corrections, jail searches, municipal courts | Bills in brief
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Colorado lawmakers introduce hundreds of bills each year. Bills in brief cuts through the noise by explaining which proposals matter, what’s at stake, and how decisions at the Capitol could affect everyday life across the state. Colorado lawmakers are advancing a slate of bills dealing with crime and corrections this session that would reshape how the state…
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‘Everything happens for a reason’: Veterans Trauma Court aims to help military members in times of need
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Five years after he separated from the Army, Mark Bisset found himself in the Colorado criminal justice system. Bisset’s story started on April 9, 2022. According to past Gazette coverage of the case, the arrest stemmed from an alleged incident in which Bisset rode a four-wheeler to a property in the Indian Creek subdivision in…
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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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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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Weld County Sheriff condemns law that led to release of violent suspect
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Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams says a 2024 law required him to release a man who had been charged with attempted murder stemming from an incident in Greeley earlier this year. According to Reams, 21-year-old Debisa Ephraim was arrested in April and charged with second-degree attempted murder following an altercation between him and another man…
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Colorado expands access to DNA testing after criminal convictions
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A new state law took effect on Sunday, increasing eligibility for people convicted of felonies to receive DNA testing. Before Sunday, only people who are actively incarcerated could receive DNA testing. Now, it’s open to people on felony parole, registered sex offenders, people who have completed their sentences, and people who were found not guilty…
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Progressives see many victories, big losses | 2023 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
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Colorado’s 2023 legislature is perhaps the most progressive the state has seen. Democrats this year achieved the largest majority the state has seen in 85 years and many first-year lawmakers pushed the Capitol to the left ideologically. Despite this, the progressive agenda often faced an uphill battle throughout the session, with key pieces of legislation…
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Restrictions on no-knock search warrants pass Colorado legislature
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Three years ago, Breonna Taylor was fatally shot in her Kentucky apartment by police executing a no-knock warrant for her ex-boyfriend. Taylor’s death inspired national outrage and debate on the use of search warrants that allow police to forcibly enter people’s homes without warning. Colorado lawmakers are now tackling the issue with Senate Bill 254. If made…
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Bill passes to make falsely reporting mass shootings a felony in Colorado
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Months after more than a dozen Colorado schools were victim of a coordinated false report claiming active shooters were attacking students, the state legislature has voted to increase the penalty for such crimes. If signed into law, Senate Bill 249 would make it a felony offense to knowingly falsely report a mass shooting in Colorado. The House…
