jaclyn casey brown
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State Supreme Court rebuffs challenge to oil, gas taxation in Montezuma County
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned an appellate court decision that would have enhanced the ability of individual oil and gas owners to challenge their property tax bills, and would have also increased the administrative workload for counties in extraction-rich areas of the state. The justices clarified that the legislature intended to create a “representative”…
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Appeals court finds no discrimination in prosecutors’ removal of 2 Hispanic jurors
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Colorado’s second-highest court has declined to find Weld County prosecutors engaged in unconstitutional racial discrimination by dismissing two Hispanic men from serving on a Hispanic defendant’s jury. Jurors convicted Javier Hernandez-Martinez in 2018 on three drug distribution charges and he received a four-year prison sentence. On appeal, Hernandez-Martinez argued the prosecution violated the U.S. Supreme…
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Appeals court clarifies defendants’ ability to access officers’ personnel files
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Colorado’s second-highest court has clarified that criminal defendants are not automatically entitled to have a trial judge review and possibly release a police officer’s personnel file, but instead must show the request is factually relevant and not a “general fishing expedition.” Last month, the state’s Court of Appeals determined a La Plata County judge acted…
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State Supreme Court explores role of shifting explanations in race-based juror dismissals
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Over 30 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that purposeful racial discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional, requiring prosecutors to now cite a “race-neutral reason” if a defendant challenges their decision to remove a juror of color. This week, the Colorado Supreme Court considered a narrow question implicating that protocol: If an appeals court…
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Oil, gas tax law under consideration by Colorado Supreme Court
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The Colorado Supreme Court stepped in this week to clarify whether the owners of a Montezuma County oil and gas formation have the opportunity to challenge a retroactive $2 million increase to their collective property tax bill. The underlying sequence of events already made its way to the justices once in 2017, when the court…
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Judges uphold police search stemming from IP address, but disagree on legal justification
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Law enforcement in Clear Creek County was in the process of executing a search warrant at a Silver Plume home, looking for devices containing child pornography, when they encountered Kevin M. Dhyne, a tenant in the house’s basement. Dhyne volunteered to a detective that he used his landlord’s Internet – an admission that would culminate in…
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Appeals court reverses Cortez man’s conviction for judge’s failure to give home defense instruction
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There was enough evidence to support the theory that Shane Dean Darrell French was acting in defense of his home when he threatened his parole officer, Colorado’s second-highest court determined last week. Therefore, a Montezuma County judge acted improperly by failing to instruct the jury about the state’s home defense law. By a 2-1 decision,…
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Appeals court finds Arapahoe judge mistakenly allowed man to represent self at trial
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Colorado’s second-highest court has determined an Arapahoe County judge wrongfully found a defendant had waived his constitutional right to an attorney when she failed to establish Jahmal Ali Price understood the consequences of proceeding to trial without legal representation. Although the Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the right to counsel, it is possible for defendants…
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Appeals court warns police to use lights and sirens or lose immunity for crashes
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The town of Olathe and one of its officers can be held liable for the collision deaths of two men in 2018, stemming from the officer’s failure to use his lights and sirens for the majority of his high-speed pursuit. In reversing a lower court judge’s decision to dismiss the civil lawsuit against Olathe, a…
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Municipalities, state agencies warn Supreme Court against opening floodgates to lawsuits
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Nearly all of the state’s municipalities and a handful of state agencies are pleading with the Colorado Supreme Court to reverse a lower court’s ruling that eliminated the strict 28-day deadline for challenging decisions of government bodies. Liquor license denials, local governments’ discipline of personnel, and the Department of Corrections’ decisions about inmates are some…
