douglas county
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Appeals Court rules Douglas County violated open meeting laws
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The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that Douglas County Commissioners violated Colorado open meeting laws in a series of closed meetings leading up to the county’s failed home rule special election. The Thursday ruling reversed a trial court’s denial of a preliminary injunction, finding the meetings were subject to open meeting laws and plaintiffs demonstrated…
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Douglas County task force targets development regulations
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Douglas County kicked off its first Red Tape Reduction Task Force Thursday aimed at speeding up commercial and industrial development timelines in the county, a move leaders said is necessary to keep the county competitive with other regions nationwide. The task force will review the county’s development and regulatory processes to identify permitting “hurdles” in…
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Newly formed PAC promises a stronger voice for southern Colorado businesses
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A new political action committee has launched in southern Colorado, aiming to strengthen and elevate the voices of local businesses and their regional influence on state-level policy. Over the last two years, the Colorado Legislature has enacted more than 1,000 new laws that have burdened businesses with added costs and excessive regulations, and several more…
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Appeals court says jury not obligated to apply discounts to determine value of stolen merch
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded on Thursday that it was up to a Douglas County jury to determine the value of stolen merchandise at a defendant’s theft trial, after both sides presented different estimates of the items’ value. Under state law, a theft offense hinges on the market value of the stolen goods. Anything below $2,000…
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Error-prone Douglas County judge triggers another reversal of criminal convictions
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Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a defendant’s Douglas County convictions on Thursday due to the error of a judge whose actions have triggered a disproportionate number of reversals to convictions and sentences in recent years. Since 2021, the Court of Appeals has found problems in multiple criminal cases handled by former District Court Judge Patricia Herron.…
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Douglas County commissioners approve shoplifting ordinance despite pushback
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The Board of Douglas County Commissioners approved an ordinance Tuesday afternoon that will mandate businesses report suspected shoplifting crimes. The ordinance, a highly-debated measure that has been in the works for over a year, was unanimously adopted by the three-commissioner board despite considerable pushback from community members, some of whom sarcastically noted their concerns during…
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GoFundMe donations for victim do not lessen defendant’s restitution obligation, appeals court rules
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Donations made to a victim’s crowdfunding page do not necessarily reduce the defendant’s obligation to pay crime victim restitution, Colorado’s second-highest court concluded on Thursday. Under state law, crime victim compensation boards reimburse victims for certain monetary losses, including funeral costs, medical expenditures, and property damage. Prosecutors may, in turn, seek restitution payments from the…
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DougCo deputy fired after DUI, careless driving arrest
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A Douglas County Sheriff’s deputy was fired Friday after he was arrested by Parker Police the previous weekend. Andrew Sanders faces charges of driving under the influence, careless driving, assault on a police officer and obstruction in relation to a traffic stop just before 8 p.m. Feb. 7, according to a Friday news release from…
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Colorado justices skeptical that intimate messages relevant to assault case
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court seemed to agree on Tuesday that a Douglas County judge acted reasonably by blocking evidence of a defendant’s BDSM-related conversations with the victim in his trial for assault and false imprisonment. Jurors found Donald Louis Gerle guilty in 2022. In the prosecution’s telling, Gerle began beating his alleged victim following…
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Second appeals judge voices concerns about new ‘reasonable doubt’ instruction
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Another member of Colorado’s second-highest court registered his concern on Thursday that a portion of the recently revised “reasonable doubt” definition improperly lowers the prosecution’s burden to prove a defendant guilty. Judge Daniel M. Taubman wrote that the current instruction advising jurors to acquit whenever there is “a real possibility the defendant is not guilty”…