fair trial
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear cases about ‘reasonable doubt’ definition, contract dispute
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that it will decide whether the definition of “reasonable doubt” adopted in a 2023 revision to the template jury instructions violates the constitutional rights of the criminally accused. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. The justices will also…
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Defendant’s ‘train wreck’ of a statement prompts appeals court to order new trial
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Colorado’s second-highest court ordered a new trial on Thursday for a defendant whose 16-minute statement mid-trial, which had no basis in criminal procedure and was described by one judge as a “train wreck,” resulted in a constitutionally unfair proceeding. Jefferson County prosecutors charged Riddick Amoako-Asiamah with large-scale marijuana cultivation or distribution based on the substantial amount…
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10th Circuit rejects claim that judge pressured defense attorney
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The Denver-based federal appeals court concluded last week that a trial judge’s comments urging a criminal defense lawyer to be more cooperative in the presentation of evidence did not negatively affect the defendant’s right to a fair trial. Prior to trial, lawyers for both sides may agree which pieces of evidence are authentic — meaning they…
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Appeals court reverses sex assault convictions due to juror who was distracted by traumatic event
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Colorado’s second-highest court last week reversed a man’s Boulder County sexual assault convictions and ordered a new trial because one juror was distracted after witnessing a fatal accident and missed key portions of testimony. A jury convicted Curtis James DiMarco in 2021 of numerous child sex offenses and he received a sentence of 60 years…
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Colorado justices find Denver judge appropriately subbed in alternate juror mid-deliberations
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The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday that a Denver judge did what he needed to do to ensure a defendant received a fair trial after one juror became ill in the middle of deliberations and had to be replaced with the alternate. Ricardo Castro’s jury deliberated for 11 hours total until it recessed on…
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‘Pretty shocking’: Colorado justices review case where defendant’s lawyer was also being prosecuted
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared hesitant last week to endorse automatic reversal of an El Paso County defendant’s convictions because he was seemingly unaware his lawyer was simultaneously being prosecuted by the same district attorney’s office. However, some justices agreed the system failed to adequately protect the rights of Matthew Rodolfo Vansant Lopez from…
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El Paso County domestic violence conviction reversed because of biased juror
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Colorado’s second-highest court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of domestic violence-related offenses after acknowledging an unusual scenario in which the trial judge, prosecutor and defense attorney confused one juror for another, and neglected to dismiss the juror they all agreed was biased. An El Paso County jury convicted Cory James Wooldridge in…
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El Paso County domestic violence conviction reversed because of biased juror
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Colorado’s second-highest court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of domestic violence-related offenses after acknowledging an unusual scenario in which the trial judge, prosecutor and defense attorney confused one juror for another, and neglected to dismiss the juror they all agreed was biased. An El Paso County jury convicted Cory James Wooldridge in…
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El Paso County domestic violence conviction reversed because of biased juror
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Colorado’s second-highest court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of domestic violence-related offenses after acknowledging an unusual scenario in which the trial judge, prosecutor and defense attorney confused one juror for another, and neglected to dismiss the juror they all agreed was biased. An El Paso County jury convicted Cory James Wooldridge in…
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Colorado Supreme Court ponders what to do when substituting alternate jurors mid-deliberation
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When one juror in Ricardo Castro’s criminal trial became incapacitated 11 hours into the jury’s deliberations and could not continue, there was broad agreement afterward that the trial judge did everything he could to emphasize the need for remaining jurors to begin anew — with the alternate juror replacing her stricken counterpart. The question now…
