fourth amendment
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Colorado Supreme Court takes no issue with 3-day delay in obtaining vehicle search warrant
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday found no constitutional problem with a Denver detective waiting three days to obtain a search warrant for a vehicle seized by law enforcement, and it created a new test for determining when such delays become unreasonable. The prosecution and the defense acknowledged to the state’s justices that the U.S. Supreme…
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Federal judge bars evidence from pat-down, finds Sterling officer had no grounds to search motorist
A federal judge barred evidence from a pat-down search from being used against a defendant on Monday, concluding a Sterling police officer violated the man’s rights by searching him without a legal basis. Federal prosecutors indicted Jorge Sigala-Baray for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Police discovered the gun on Sigala-Baray after pulling him over for…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases on police interrogation, mid-trial appeal
The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced it will determine whether a convicted defendant should receive a new trial after detectives interrogated him without probable cause and while executing a narrow order to obtain his DNA. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take up a case on appeal. The justices also…
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Divided Colorado Supreme Court upholds police’s pat-down of man in ‘wrong place at the wrong time’
The Colorado Supreme Court decided on Tuesday that police had not unlawfully seized a man when they patted him down in a chance encounter after he suddenly appeared outside the motel room where they were preparing to make an arrest. By 5-2, the justices believed Oscar Jonas Ganaway consented to the pat-down search, which resulted in…
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Chief justice, top appeals judges address Colorado legal community | APPELLATE UPDATE
Members of Colorado’s state and federal appellate courts addressed the legal community on Friday with the latest details about caseloads, internal changes and upcoming initiatives. Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez, who has occupied the state’s top judicial role for almost one year, described an “interesting trend” of the Colorado Supreme Court receiving slightly fewer petitions to…
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Appeals judge warns police against overly broad cell phone search warrants
A member of the state’s second-highest court warned last month that law enforcement personnel should be on notice by now that they cannot obtain warrants seeking broad amounts of data from a suspect’s cell phone records unrelated to the crime. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals upheld the convictions and 102-year prison sentence…
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‘Common sense’: 10th Circuit rules Loveland officer will face civil trial for shooting puppy in head
The Denver-based federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that a jury will decide whether a Loveland police officer violated a couple’s constitutional rights by shooting their puppy in the head and torso. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit had never decided the specific question of whether the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable…
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Federal judge advances convicted man’s lawsuit over $3,406 still in Denver’s possession
A federal judge this month agreed an incarcerated man may proceed to sue Denver and the commander of its major crimes division for refusing to return $3,406 that authorities confiscated after his arrest 20 years ago. Jurors convicted Brian Hicks of murder in 2011. Originally, police arrested Hicks in 2005 and charged him with attempted…
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Colorado justices rule trunk search constitutional in Arapahoe County shooting case
The Colorado Supreme Court reversed an Arapahoe County judge on Monday who found law enforcement conducted an unconstitutional search of a man’s trunk, with the justices instead concluding police had grounds to believe a recently fired gun was inside. Prosecutors have charged Sheron Mario Furness with seven criminal counts related to drug and weapon possession,…
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Federal judge lets prisoner’s claim proceed over strip search video shared with others
A federal judge agreed last week that an incarcerated man’s claims could proceed against two state corrections employees, alleging they retaliated against him for complaining about recorded strip searches and also showed the video of one search to inmates and staff. Representing himself, Ryan James Griffin filed suit based on multiple strip searches he underwent…