interrogation
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Colorado Supreme Court clears way for child abuse trial to proceed
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The Colorado Supreme Court last week dismissed an appeal in a child abuse case out of El Paso County, declining to address the defendant’s claim that prosecutors’ bad-faith delay required the charges to be thrown out under the state’s speedy-trial law. The court originally took interest in Khristina Phillips’ case earlier this year and ordered…
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Appeals court finds Broomfield police did not coerce confession over phone
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Colorado’s second-highest court determined last month that Broomfield police did not coerce a telephone confession out of a suspect by telling him a detective was “not going to look for you.” Within minutes of answering law enforcement’s call while he was in Mexico, Ricardo E. Munoz-Diaz admitted to killing Amalia Karolina Lopez-Leon in her home. He…
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Colorado Supreme Court, 5-2, endorses use of illegally obtained evidence against convicted man
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Even though police violated Ari Misha Liggett’s Miranda rights when they interrogated him, an Arapahoe County judge properly allowed prosecutors to use those statements against Liggett if he attempted to introduce evidence of his mental illness, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. The 5-2 decision implicated the ability of mentally ill people to pursue…
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Colorado Democrats OK bill to prevent police from lying to minors during interrogations
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After more than a year of trying, Colorado Democrats passed a bill Monday to restrict police from lying to minors during interrogations. If signed into law by the governor, House Bill 1042 would make any statements obtained by juveniles during custodial interrogations inadmissible in court if law enforcement knowingly presented untruthful information to the juvenile during the interrogation…
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Former public defenders offer crash course on rights: Remain silent when interacting with cops
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On a Saturday morning in Aurora, more than a dozen audience members – mostly people of color – received a crash course in how to interact with police without compromising any constitutional protections. The overarching message: You have the right to remain silent, and you should use it. “The idea of talking yourself out of something is…
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By 4-3, Supreme Court says no Miranda warning necessary for man repeatedly told he was under arrest
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Even though Longmont police warned a man four times he was under arrest, told him “we are going to take you to jail” and stood in his doorway, the Colorado Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the man was not effectively in custody at the time. The 4-3 decision from the Supreme Court meant the…
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‘You guys will get me someone to talk to’ not a request for counsel, appeals court rules
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week that an El Paso County defendant did not clearly invoke his constitutional right to an attorney when he wondered whether police could “get me someone to talk to right now” during his interrogation. Even though a Colorado Springs detective told Jacolby Hasan Williams he would “just proceed with the…
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Split appeals court rules Aurora police needed to give Miranda warning to road rage suspect
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Colorado’s second-highest court has reversed a man’s assault convictions in Arapahoe County because police failed to provide a Miranda warning at the point when their interrogation effectively placed the defendant in custody. A panel of the Court of Appeals decided, by 2-1, that while Aurora police did not need to advise Terrence Kenneth Eugene of…
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Appeals court overturns Garfield County murder conviction due to coerced confession
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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…
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Fractured Supreme Court finds Adams County defendant did not invoke right to counsel in custody
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In an unusual decision on Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that a criminal defendant did not clearly invoke his constitutional right to an attorney during a police interrogation, even though a majority of the justices actually believed the opposite was true. The appeal out of Adams County boiled down to a single moment…
