garfield county
-
Colorado appeals court overturns convictions after Garfield County judge violated right to counsel
—
by
A Garfield County judge failed to follow the proper procedure when he effectively forced a criminal defendant to represent himself at trial, prompting the state’s Court of Appeals to reverse the convictions on Thursday. A jury convicted Tony Lee Bergman Jr. of multiple offenses related to the possession of child pornography. During the three years…
-
Colorado Supreme Court rules, 4-3, state’s oil and gas regulators not empowered to resolve contract dispute
—
by
By 4-3, Colorado’s Supreme Court on Monday ruled the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission does not have the authority to resolve a contract dispute between a well operator in Garfield County and those who are owed royalties from the extraction operations, putting a stop to a half-decade of ping-ponging between venues. The majority’s decision…
-
Judge dismisses lawsuit against Garfield County deputy who injured detainee’s testicle
—
by
A federal judge has found a Garfield County sheriff’s deputy did not violate the constitutional rights of a sleeping detainee by allegedly tossing a pack of playing cards at him and injuring his testicle. According to Juan A. Carrazco’s lawsuit, he had asked Deputy Amber Morrison to wake him in the morning so he could…
-
‘Learn as you go’: Judicial branch previews life as rural county judge as vacancy deadline approaches
—
by
Diligence, demeanor and integrity required. Law degree optional. Those are the qualities the Ninth Judicial District is eyeing for a pair of vacancies in Rio Blanco County as it looks to recruit one or two new judges to handle misdemeanor criminal cases, low-dollar civil disputes and evictions, among other matters. “We wanna see someone who…
-
Appeals court finds Garfield County judge wrongly imposed contempt sanction on mother
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court has found a Garfield County judge was wrong to impose a $50 fine on a mother for failing to follow a court order and arrange summer tutoring for her daughter. Judges may hold someone in contempt for disobeying an order, with two types of sanctions available. A punitive sanction, according to the…
-
Judge green-lights lawsuit against federal lands agency for delayed action against illegal mining
—
by
A federal judge agreed on Tuesday the government has unreasonably delayed a years-long investigation into whether illegal mining is taking place near Glenwood Springs. Garfield County and the Glenwood Springs Citizens’ Alliance have sued the Bureau of Land Management, accusing it of tolerating the unauthorized removal of limestone for years. They are now seeking to compel…
-
Judge weighs whether lawsuit can proceed alleging illegal mining in Garfield County
—
by
A federal judge is contemplating whether to allow Garfield County and a group of Glenwood Springs residents to proceed with their lawsuit against the federal agency that manages public lands, which allegedly has allowed illegal mining to occur for years at a quarry near the city. The Glenwood Springs Citizens’ Alliance first filed its complaint…
-
Appeals court overturns Garfield County murder conviction due to coerced confession
—
by
Local, state and federal interrogators coerced a confession out of a murder suspect in Garfield County, and his resulting statements could have affected the jury’s verdict, Colorado’s second-highest court determined on Thursday. There was no question that Gustavo Olivo-Tellez shot and killed his wife in Glenwood Springs early in October 2016. The dispute at trial…
-
State Supreme Court again strikes down part of harassment law as unconstitutional
—
by
The Colorado Supreme Court once again invalidated part of the state’s anti-harassment law, finding the legislature targeted constitutionally protected speech in its effort to criminalize certain types of electronic communication. As written, Colorado law makes it a misdemeanor offense to communicate with someone by phone, text or computer in a manner intended to harass, threaten…
-
Boebert faces calls for federal, state investigations into abuse of authority allegations
—
by
A comedy writer and documentary filmmaker is asking federal and state authorities to investigate U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, accusing the Silt Republican of abusing her position to squelch a political critic. In letters delivered in late October to the acting U.S. attorney for Colorado and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, Toby Morton, a Tulsa, Oklahoma, resident,…
