denver district attorney
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Denver sex assault verdict reversed after expert vouched for victim’s credibility
Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a defendant’s child sex assault convictions earlier this month because an expert witness, who had no connection to the specific case, effectively told jurors the victim’s explanations were true. In child sex assault cases, a generalized, or “blind,” expert may testify about how alleged victims react to and disclose incidents of…
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Divided appeals court finds no misconduct from Denver prosecutor’s inflammatory argument
While the Colorado Supreme Court has established that prosecutors may not characterize a witness’s testimony as a “lie,” the state’s second-highest court has decided, by 2-1, a Denver prosecutor did not cross the line by repeatedly using a synonym for “lie.” Jurors convicted Rigoberto E. Fernandez in 2015 for stabbing a man at Montbello Recreation…
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Federal judge dismisses former law student’s retaliation claims against Denver County Court
A federal judge has dismissed a former law student’s claims against the Denver County Court, acknowledging by all accounts the student’s semester in the courthouse did not go well, but that his allegations of disability-related retaliation were not viable. Ethan West-Helmle graduated from the University of Denver’s law school several months after failing an externship…
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Denver officer justified in suspect’s shooting death, DA says
An officer who shot and killed a domestic violence suspect who law enforcement say stabbed a woman and used her as a human shield as police responded was legally justified, the Denver District Attorney’s Office has decided. One Denver Police Department officer fired once during the July incident, killing Chaz Gallegos, 33. Denver judge upholds…
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What’s next for three Denver police officers who shot into a LoDo crowd: A grand jury primer
Tuesday, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann made the rare decision to call a grand jury to investigate last month’s LoDo officer-involved shooting in which six bystanders were injured as they left bars at closing time. McCann said the grand jury was necessary because of the high amount of public interest in the case. Since this…
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10th Circuit says Denver officials did not violate rights of wrongly-convicted man
A man who spent nearly three decades behind bars before ultimately being acquitted of the charges may not sue the Denver prosecutors and law enforcement officials whose missteps contributed to his wrongful incarceration, the federal appeals court based in Colorado ruled on Tuesday. Clarence Moses-EL received a 48-year prison sentence for the 1987 assault and…
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Norm Early, Denver’s first Black district attorney, dies
Norm Early, Denver’s first Black district attorney and a champion for victims’ rights, has died in Denver of complications from diabetes, according to family members. “He was always a family man, always smiling. Whenever we would go out to eat, he had the whole restaurant laughing,” said his niece, Malika S. Flowers of Atlanta. Early…
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Colorado Rep. Saine will not be charged for carrying concealed firearm into DIA
Colorado state Rep. Lori Saine, R-Dacono, will not be charged for carrying a loaded 9mm handgun into Denver International Airport on Dec. 5, according to the Boulder County district attorney’s office. When TSA authorities questioned her about the gun, Saine said she had “totally forgotten” it was in her purse, according to police reports. “After being mirandized,…
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McCann: Sessions’ federal sentencing directive ‘disturbing’
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann, Breckenridge District Attorney Bruce Brown and Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett are among close to 30 current and former local and state prosecutors to oppose a recent directive from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions that instructs federal prosecutors to charge, pursue and seek the longest possible sentences for the “most…
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McCann cancels tour of crime lab for Denver Democrats’ fundraising group
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann on Monday cancelled a tour of the Denver Police Crime Lab scheduled later this week for members of a fundraising group tied to the Denver Democratic Party after a conservative organization raised a fuss. Kelly Maher, executive director of Compass Colorado, sounded the alarm in a release Monday over an…