judge amanda hopkins
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Appeals court confirms no bias by judge who formerly represented defendant
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that a Saguache County judge was not biased against a criminal defendant whose case she briefly worked on during her prior career as a public defender. A jury convicted Donald L. Garcia of motor vehicle theft in a trial presided over by Chief Judge Amanda C. Hopkins. On appeal,…
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Colorado justices, 4-3, reject defendant’s challenge to biased judge
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Although the Colorado Supreme Court acknowledged on Monday that a Saguache County judge was disqualified by law from presiding over a criminal case because she briefly represented the defendant before her appointment to the bench, a majority concluded there was nothing it could do because the defense knew about the conflict and stayed silent. By…
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Colorado justices spar over need for new trial due to biased judge
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When public defender Amanda C. Hopkins appeared in Saguache County District Court on April 17, 2018, her client failed to show up. The hearing was over in a matter of minutes. Records at the time did not document her brief substitution for the regular public defender assigned to the case. Three months later, Hopkins became…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear case of conflicted judge
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When a judge took office in Saguache County four years ago, she presided over a criminal case in which she previously, as a public defender, had appeared briefly on behalf of the defendant. No one raised a red flag at the time. Now, the Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to review a split decision from…
