domestic violence
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Federal judge finds no evidence Arapahoe County deputy suffered gender discrimination
An Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputy, who was suspended without pay for 19 months while she resolved the criminal and internal affairs charges against her, failed to show she was treated worse than male employees under similar circumstances, a federal judge ruled last month. Lindsey Traxler had worked in the sheriff’s office for eight years when,…
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Colorado Supreme Court reviews 3 cases, including prosecutor’s office plagued by misconduct
The Colorado Supreme Court has signaled it may intervene in three ongoing criminal cases, including one where the district attorney’s office chronically fails to turn over evidence to defendants – a practice that violates procedural rules and has angered trial judges in central Colorado. In the past few weeks, the Supreme Court has ordered parties to…
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Colorado Supreme Court ponders whether domestic violence treatment is ‘punishment’
Defendants whose crimes involve domestic violence are generally required to complete a treatment program and face other consequences, including the relinquishment of firearms. This week, the Colorado Supreme Court considered whether juries, instead of judges, should decide whether an offense amounts to domestic violence. To get to the answer, the justices must weigh a related…
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Appeals court says Denver judge forced man to choose between right to attorney, speedy trial
Colorado’s second-highest court last week reversed a man’s convictions after finding a Denver judge forced him to choose between postponing his jury trial if he wanted a lawyer or continuing to trial as scheduled, but with no attorney. Aurelio DeSantiago opted to represent himself and a jury convicted him of multiple assault charges. He received…
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Appeals court overturns domestic violence convictions, finds Denver judge violated law
A Denver judge did not follow the law when he sentenced a defendant as a habitual domestic violence offender instead of asking a jury to evaluate the man’s prior offenses, the state’s Court of Appeals ruled this month. Sheldon M. Ryan stood trial in 2018 for physically attacking his romantic partner, and a jury found…
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Appeals court pushes back against racial bias in jury selection
Colorado’s second-highest court laid down new rules on Thursday to discourage the exclusion of people of color from juries for reasons that, while not explicitly racial, are nevertheless correlated with race. Two separate panels of the state’s Court of Appeals issued rulings that, in part, forbid the dismissal of Black jurors solely because they reveal…
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Republican in Colorado House race called on to step aside because of felony conviction
The only Republican on the primary ballot in the House District 21 race running to represent southern El Paso County, Karl Dent, is embroiled in legal battles related to domestic violence and animal cruelty, leading a former representative for the district to call on him to step aside. “I can’t imagine anybody at the Capitol…
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Senate committee advances bill to expand witness intimidation law
After assuaging members’ concerns about the breadth of the proposal, the state Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday unanimously advanced a bill enhancing prosecutors’ ability to charge people for intimidating victims or witnesses. Existing law criminalizes the intimation of a victim or witness to a legal proceeding, but Senate Bill 24 would explicitly cover the intimidation…
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Democratic leaders call on legislator Jovan Melton to resign; alleged victim speaks out
Democratic leaders of the Colorado House of Representatives and the chair of the state Democratic Party on Wednesday called on state Rep. Jovan Melton to resign in the wake of a report that he was arrested twice years ago on allegations of domestic violence. Meanwhile, a woman involved in one of the incidents, in 2008,…
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Amid report of domestic-violence arrests, Colo. lawmaker apologizes, but denies violence
A Democratic leader in the Colorado House of Representatives apologized Tuesday to two women with whom he was involved years ago after a report surfaced that he had been arrested twice on suspicion of domestic violence, but he also denied he had committed “any violence against the women.” State Rep. Jovan Melton of Aurora, the…