fourth amendment
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Lakewood police acted unconstitutionally in using drug detection dog, Supreme Court rules by 5-2
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Lakewood police violated the constitutional prohibition on unreasonable searches by ensuring a driver’s door remained open so a drug detection dog could sniff inside the vehicle without probable cause, the Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday. In the 5-2 decision, all justices agreed with the principle that law enforcement conducts a search if they “facilitate”…
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Colorado Supreme Court says license plate corresponding to other vehicle is grounds for stopping driver
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An Adams County deputy’s discovery that the license plates on a vehicle were registered to another car provided him the reasonable suspicion required to detain the driver, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. However, the justices stopped short of deeming the subsequent vehicle search constitutional, as the trial judge had not yet evaluated whether…
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Federal judge dismisses man’s claims against Jeffco SWAT officers for home raid
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A federal judge last month dismissed a man’s claims that Jefferson County SWAT team members violated his constitutional rights by forcefully entering his home with little warning, damaging the apartment and removing him half-naked while they executed a search warrant. Lance P. Schendorf is serving a 20-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him in…
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Jeffco murder conviction overturned after appeals court finds police unconstitutionally accessed cell phone
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A man serving a life sentence for murder will receive a new trial after Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last week that law enforcement unconstitutionally used a “shortcut” to unlock his phone in time for his original trial. In reaching its conclusion, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals rejected the idea that a cell…
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Federal judge stands by ruling dismissing some of protesters’ claims against Denver
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A federal judge last week refused to alter her ruling allowing only some claims to proceed to a jury trial against Denver for its alleged constitutional violations against protesters. Numerous judges this year have found Denver or its officers may be held liable for excessive force or First Amendment violations in a series of lawsuits.…
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Federal judge green-lights another lawsuit for trial over Denver’s response to 2020 protests
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Another federal judge cleared the way last week for a jury to decide whether Denver and one of its officers violated the constitutional rights of 14 protesters during the summer of 2020. U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews concluded the plaintiffs offered sufficient evidence for jurors to find they were exercising their First Amendment…
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10th Circuit reinstates lawsuit against Mesa County deputies for $50,000 in home damage
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The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed a trial judge mistakenly relied on outside materials when he dismissed a lawsuit against several Mesa County sheriff’s personnel who damaged a woman’s home during a SWAT raid. Patricia Cuervo identified 17 sheriff’s employees who allegedly contributed to the unspecified destruction on March 11, 2018. That day, police…
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Mesa County animal cruelty convictions overturned for officer’s unconstitutional search
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Colorado’s second-highest court determined on Thursday that a Mesa County animal control officer gathered evidence of a cruelty offense from a woman’s property in violation of the Fourth Amendment, necessitating a new trial. The constitutional prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures generally requires police to obtain a warrant or else rely on an established exception…
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Boulder man’s attempted sex assault convictions overturned due to detectives’ actions
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A Boulder man will receive a new trial after Colorado’s second-highest court determined last month that a pair of detectives improperly detained and interrogated him about an attempted sex assault instead of simply collecting his DNA as a court authorized them to do. Angel Adrian Castro-Velasquez is serving 18 years to life in prison on…
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Colorado justices narrowly uphold IP-based search warrant, decline to adopt broader rule
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The Colorado Supreme Court upheld as constitutional on Monday a warrant that permitted Clear Creek County sheriff’s personnel to search a man’s laptop for child pornography, even though he lived in a unit separate from the target residence and law enforcement was focusing on a different suspect the day of the visit. Previously, four lower…