Drug Conspiracy
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Appeals court overturns Weld County drug convictions after officer gave improper testimony
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday overturned a man’s drug convictions and 36-year prison sentence because a law enforcement officer improperly testified the defendant had met the legal elements to be found guilty. An expert witness cannot “usurp” the jury’s role by testifying about the conclusion jurors should reach. The Court of Appeals has previously ordered…
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Weld County drug conspiracy conviction overturned due to lack of conspiracy
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Weld County prosecutors did not prove a man was guilty of a conspiracy to distribute because the onetime, aborted transaction of an ounce of methamphetamine could not support the concept of “conspiracy,” Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. Jessie Rodriguez Sr. is serving a four-year prison sentence following his conviction in 2022. An undercover law…