judge charlotte sweeney
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Federal judge: Government violated order shielding man from deportation in ‘one-off mistake’
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A federal judge acknowledged on Thursday that the government violated his order by deporting a man in immigration detention during his pending court case, but it “serves nobody’s interests” to require the government to return him. On Feb. 18, Tesfami Chael filed a habeas corpus petition in Colorado’s U.S. District Court to challenge his immigration…
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Colorado’s federal judges maintain approach to immigration detentions while escalating warnings
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Colorado’s federal judges are maintaining their view that the government’s assertion of broad immigration detention authority is unlawful, casting aside a recent appellate decision to the contrary as “unpersuasive” and out of step with the predominant interpretation by the judiciary. However, several judges are speaking out forcefully about the behavior from the government, including missed…
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Federal judge partially allows challenge to proceed against Colorado unclaimed property program
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A federal judge allowed some claims to proceed last week against Colorado’s treasurer, based upon alleged constitutional violations flowing from the state’s process for reuniting people with their unclaimed property. Previously, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney dismissed the lawsuit by plaintiffs David Knellinger and Robert Storey, reasoning that they failed to sufficiently allege…
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Federal judge sanctions Pueblo for destroying evidence in lawsuit
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A federal judge imposed sanctions on the city of Pueblo last week after it disposed of a key piece of evidence shortly after the plaintiffs filed suit seeking damages for the destruction of their home. On June 25, 2022, a city bus crashed into David V. and Nancy M. Salama’s house. One year later, they…
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Federal judge blasts government for violating court order, confiscating man’s property
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A federal judge gave the government three hours on Friday to return the property of a man released from immigration detention, which it allegedly retained in violation of her previous order. “At its most benign, this failure is an unforced error of preventable dimension. At its worst, this is unjustifiable intransigence, where retention of Petitioner’s…
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Federal judge green-lights excessive force trial against Fort Collins officers
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A federal judge concluded last week that a jury will need to resolve whether two Fort Collins police officers violated a man’s constitutional rights by using excessive force after he refused to accept a citation. In a Jan. 21 order, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney analyzed the severity of plaintiff Andru Kulas’ alleged…
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Federal judge warns DOJ against raising repeatedly rejected arguments in immigration detention cases
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A federal judge in Colorado warned the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday against raising arguments that she and other judges have repeatedly rejected in cases challenging the lawfulness of immigration detentions. In a Jan. 26 order finding the government is wrongfully detaining a Cuban national without a bond hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte…
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10th Circuit to address resentencing of probation violators in rare all-judges hearing
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The Denver-based federal appeals court agreed on Thursday to hold a rare all-judges hearing to determine the proper procedure for resentencing a criminal defendant who has violated the terms of his probation. In the federal appellate courts, the vast majority of cases are decided in three-judge panels. Occasionally, the courts will vote to have all…
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Elizabeth School District dismisses challenge to book-ban injunction on eve of appellate arguments
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An Elbert County school district has dismissed its challenge to a judge’s injunction ordering it to return banned books to library shelves, days before the Denver-based federal appeals court was set to hear oral arguments this week. Although a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit formally dismissed the case…









