grand junction
-
Q&A with Judge Gordon Gallagher | Colorado’s first federal district judge stationed on Western Slope
—
by
Gordon P. Gallagher first joined Colorado’s federal trial court in 2012 as a part-time magistrate judge stationed in Grand Junction. In March 2023, the U.S. Senate confirmed him to a lifetime appointment as a district judge — one of five Biden administration appointees to the state’s U.S. District Court. Gallagher became the first district judge in…
-
Colorado’s chief justice opens up about 13-year friendship with death row inmate
—
by
Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez spoke publicly on Sunday about her longtime friendship with an Alabama man formerly on death row, which began during her time as a law school intern and ended with his execution more than a decade later. “What a connection. We could not possibly be more different. A gay, Latina, Catholic prosecutor…
-
Colorado Supreme Court considers father’s window to sue over daughter’s injury, death
—
by
Facing a confusing matrix in state law, members of the Colorado Supreme Court attempted to sort out on Wednesday how long a father had to sue after his daughter was rendered unconscious and later died from a vehicle accident. Danielle Nicola was crossing a Grand Junction street one night in November 2018 when a driver…
-
10th Circuit grants immunity to Grand Junction, Mesa County officers who fatally shot man 16 times
—
by
The federal appeals court based in Denver ruled last week that Grand Junction and Mesa County law enforcement officers could not be held liable for shooting and killing an allegedly mentally ill man in his driveway. The widow of Steve Alire sued multiple officers, plus the city and county themselves, for excessive force. The defendants…
-
10th Circuit reinstates lawsuit against Mesa County deputies for $50,000 in home damage
—
by
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…
-
Colorado Supreme Court takes up 6 cases on involuntary intoxication, malicious prosecution, child neglect trials
—
by
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday it will hear appeals in six cases, including the question of whether a person can claim he knowingly ingested one substance that was secretly laced with another behavior-altering substance as a defense to criminal charges. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to grant an…
-
Protection or overreach? In western Colorado, national monument proposal ignites controversy
—
by
Sean Pond was around a small town of his native western Colorado when he spotted a man in a blue ball cap. Above the bill were the words at the center of an ongoing controversy: “PROTECT THE DOLORES.” Pond approached the man. “He said someone at REI just gave it to him and he liked…
-
Mesa County judge’s errors prompt new trial for fertility doctor who used own sperm on patients
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday overturned a multimillion-dollar jury award to a pair of patients whose doctor artificially inseminated them with his own sperm, concluding a Mesa County judge’s cascading set of errors warranted a new trial. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals conceded Paul B. Jones, a retired obstetrician-gynecologist from Grand Junction,…
-
Mesa County judge chosen to be part-time federal judge
—
by
Mesa County District Court Judge Richard T. Gurley will be Colorado’s next federal judge, taking office as the U.S. District Court’s part-time magistrate judge stationed in Grand Junction. Gov. Bill Owens appointed Gurley in 2006, eight years after the latter moved to Colorado from Florida. Prior to joining the judiciary, Gurley practiced criminal defense and…
-
‘More than a symbol’: Western Slope’s Gordon Gallagher ceremonially sworn in to federal judgeship
—
by
In little over two years since taking office, President Joe Biden has made multiple historic appointments to Colorado’s federal trial court, selecting the first openly gay judge and the first Asian American judge, for example. But Biden opted for a different kind of diversity when he installed the most recent member of the U.S. District…
