judge anthony navarro
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Boulder police overreached in interrogating suspect, Colorado Supreme Court finds
Two Boulder detectives violated a man’s constitutional rights by interrogating him at his home using a court order that solely authorized the collection of his DNA evidence, the Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Tuesday. The ruling curtailed the ability of police to use a narrow category of court orders, issued without probable cause, to obtain…
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Colorado justices walk back appeals court’s expansion of rezoning via ballot box
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that rezonings of planned-unit developments cannot occur through a vote at the ballot box, reversing an appellate decision that found such changes were fair game for a popular vote. In contrast to traditional, or “Euclidean,” zoning, which separates land uses by type, planned-unit developments are based on negotiated…
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Colorado Supreme Court concerned about police overreach in interrogations
Some members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared hesitant on Tuesday to endorse the ability of police to interrogate a suspect after they have obtained a court order authorizing only the collection of physical evidence. Under Colorado’s criminal rules, law enforcement may obtain an order for “nontestimonial identification,” allowing them to pursue a person’s fingerprints, blood specimen,…
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Colorado justices wary of expanding rezoning by ballot initiative
The Colorado Supreme Court appeared wary on Wednesday of allowing rezonings of planned-unit developments to occur through a vote at the ballot box, rather than a municipality’s detailed review process that accounts for specific factors. In contrast to traditional, or “Euclidean,” zoning that separates land uses by type, planned-unit developments are based on negotiated agreements on…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear appeals about parenting restrictions, resentencings
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will decide whether a judge’s reduction in the amount of time a parent spends with their child amounts to the kind of “restriction” that requires a heightened justification. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case. The justices also will…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear cases on rezoning via ballot box, defaulting defendants
The justices may also intervene in two ongoing criminal cases
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases on police interrogation, mid-trial appeal
The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced it will determine whether a convicted defendant should receive a new trial after detectives interrogated him without probable cause and while executing a narrow order to obtain his DNA. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take up a case on appeal. The justices also…
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Colorado Supreme Court rules technical oversight does not imperil Denver murder conviction
The Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday that no specific procedure is required to designate a witness as an expert at trial, and the fact that a trial judge neglected to do so in front of the jury did not warrant reversal of a man’s murder conviction. Denver jurors convicted Pete Paul Martinez of stabbing 77-year-old Lewis Easterday to…
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Appeals court finds flaws with restitution orders in 2 criminal cases
Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned multiple orders, in whole or in part, for criminal defendants to pay financial restitution to their victims. In the first case out of Arapahoe County, Aron Sanchez was charged for two sets of crimes. He was accused of breaking into a vehicle to steal a stereo, after which his…
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Technical oversight or key error? Colorado justices weigh reversal of Denver murder conviction
The Colorado Supreme Court appeared doubtful on Tuesday that the failure to formally designate a witness as an expert in front of the jury rose to the level of mistake that would require a new murder trial for the defendant. Denver jurors convicted Pete Paul Martinez of stabbing 77-year-old Lewis Easterday to death near Cheesman Park in 2016. Martinez…