fourth amendment
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10th Circuit reinstates lawsuit against Mesa County deputies for $50,000 in home damage
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
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
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
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…
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Colorado justices find Adams County judge mistakenly barred drug evidence from man’s arrest
An Adams County judge mistakenly concluded that sheriff’s deputies unconstitutionally prolonged a traffic stop, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday, when the facts showed the officers had actually placed the defendant under “full arrest” supported by probable cause. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and there are limits on law enforcement’s ability…
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10th Circuit: Archuleta sheriff’s officials committed constitutional violation by seizing home for 8 hours
An Archuleta County sheriff’s detective who barred a man and his family from entering their home for nearly eight hours without a warrant committed a constitutional violation that required the eventual evidence of a firearm offense to be thrown out, the federal appeals court based in Denver ruled on Tuesday. Although Corban Josiah Elmore cooperated…
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10th Circuit agrees Aurora officer unconstitutionally detained man
The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed last week that an Aurora officer unreasonably detained a Black man who looked nothing like what a 911 caller reported, resulting in a constitutional violation that required evidence of a firearm offense to be thrown out. Officer William Idler approached Lyndell Daniels in the parking lot of…
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10th Circuit upholds Denver man’s convictions despite constitutional challenge
Even though the search warrant for 836 N. Linley Court did not mention a detached garage and the prosecution conceded the garage was not included in the search warrant, the federal appeals court based in Colorado nonetheless agreed last month that Denver police lawfully entered the building and detained the man sleeping inside. The Fourth…
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10th Circuit upholds Denver man’s convictions despite constitutional challenge
Even though the search warrant for 836 N. Linley Court did not mention a detached garage and the prosecution conceded the garage was not included in the search warrant, the federal appeals court based in Colorado nonetheless agreed last month that Denver police lawfully entered the building and detained the man sleeping inside. The Fourth…