fair trial
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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…
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Appeals court rejects new trial after Jeffco judge inadvertantly live streamed comments about case
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A Jefferson County judge’s comments about the defendant, accidentally broadcast over a live stream that the judge did not realize was running, do not provide grounds for a new trial, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week. Daniel Boman Olguin stood trial in 2021 for a felony trespassing charge. Due to pandemic precautions, the proceedings were…
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Colorado appeals court upholds man’s convictions despite juror who ‘wouldn’t give him a fair trial’
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday declined to overturn a man’s convictions for sexually assaulting multiple children despite one juror disclosing that she “wouldn’t give him a fair trial.” Joseph Lee Davis is serving a sentence in excess of 600 years for grooming, raping or enticing seven boys over a span of two decades. Davis raised…
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Divided state Supreme Court says juries may hear defendants’ drunk driving histories
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A majority of the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that juries must learn about a defendant’s prior drunk driving offenses at the same time they hear the current allegations of drunk driving, over the strenuous objection of three justices who said the move all but ensures a conviction will occur. By 4-3, the Supreme…
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Appeals court reverses convictions after El Paso judge denied fair trial to defendant
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An El Paso County judge misapplied the law and allowed harmful information to be heard at the defendant’s trial, Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last week in reversing the convictions of Israel Santillan Lopez. Further, the prosecution acknowledged Lopez was correct that District Court Judge Marcus Henson also omitted a key element of the crime of felony…
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Appeals court says Denver judge appropriately handled juror’s heart attack
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A Denver judge properly safeguarded the defendant’s rights when he ordered a jury to restart its deliberations after 11 hours with an alternate substituting for a juror who had a medical emergency, the state’s Court of Appeals decided. Ricardo Castro challenged his 2018 convictions for sexual assault on a child by claiming it was “inconceivable”…
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Appeals court overturns woman’s sexual assault conviction after judge let biased juror serve
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A woman convicted of sexually assaulting a child will receive a new trial after the state’s Court of Appeals determined a Boulder County judge should have dismissed a juror who acknowledged he was more likely to believe children witnesses over adults. The three-judge panel for the appellate court also decided for the first time that…
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Appeals court orders new trial after Mesa County judge let biased jurors serve
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Four jurors should not have served on a woman’s Mesa County trial, the state’s Court of Appeals determined, because they all volunteered they would believe police officers over the word of a non-officer simply due to their status as law enforcement. A three-judge panel for the appellate court reversed the felony assault conviction of Brenda…
