dependency and neglect
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El Paso County judge wrongly revoked father’s jury trial in child neglect case, appeals court finds
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that an El Paso County judge wrongly revoked a father’s choice of a jury trial in his child neglect case because the man had failed to appear two years earlier for a separate proceeding. Under Colorado law, parents have the right of a jury trial to determine whether a…
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Divided appeals court takes no issue with lack of child welfare services to incarcerated father
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that even if a child welfare caseworker could have rehabilitated a father by facilitating visitation time and drug treatment while he was incarcerated, the lack of services was excusable because the man likely would not have taken advantage of them anyway. By 2-1, a three-judge panel of the Court…
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Divided appeals court rules child neglect determinations cannot hinge on uncertain effects of drug exposure
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that a recent change to the state’s child neglect laws requires more than just the possibility an infant exposed to drugs at birth will experience negative health effects in the future. Prior to 2020, a court could declare a child neglected if, among other things, they tested positive at…
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Appeals court clarifies significance of pinpointing drug exposure for child neglect cases
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday clarified it does matter whether a child experienced drug exposure in her parents’ custody, rejecting a Montrose County judge’s conclusion that the location was irrelevant to determining whether the infant was neglected. A child is neglected under Colorado law if, among other things, their “environment is injurious” to their welfare.…
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Colorado Supreme Court to analyze how wage law applies to Amazon holiday pay
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The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced it will decide whether Amazon is complying with the state’s wage law by excluding shifts worked on holidays when calculating employees’ overtime pay. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear an appeal. The case addressing overtime pay came to the Supreme Court through an…
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Denver judge wrongly revoked jury trial in child neglect case, says appeals court
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A Denver judge acted improperly by canceling a jury trial that two parents had requested in their child neglect case, the state’s second-highest court ruled last month. Although three-judge panels of the Court of Appeals are not bound by each other’s decisions, an appellate panel on Oct. 19 agreed with their counterparts who concluded earlier…
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Child neglect rulings in 3 cases reversed by Colorado appeals court
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday determined judges in Montrose and Mesa counties improperly ruled against parents in child welfare cases, with one judge being the subject of two reversals. Weeks earlier, Montrose County District Court Judge D. Cory Jackson was reversed a third time by the Court of Appeals because he denied a woman’s request for…
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Adams County judge wrongly canceled child neglect jury trial after mom failed to appear, appeals court finds
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week that an Adams County judge who wound up deciding a child neglect case had no authority to cancel the planned jury trial solely because the mother failed to appear at a pretrial conference. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals also warned that to the extent judges across…
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Colorado Supreme Court says no tribal contact required for potential ‘Indian child’ cases
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While recognizing that tribal nations alone are responsible for deciding who qualifies as a member, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that counties are not required to contact tribes to verify whether certain children in custody proceedings are actually American Indian. Under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978, child welfare cases trigger protections…
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Montrose County judge wrongly terminated woman’s parental rights without lawyer, appeals court finds
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A Montrose County judge terminated a woman’s legal rights over her child after improperly denying her request for an attorney, Colorado’s second-highest court decided on Thursday. Under Colorado law, parents who are involved in child neglect cases have the right to legal representation at “every stage of the proceedings.” They can, however, choose to proceed…
