judge christina gomez
-
Colorado Supreme Court takes up 6 cases on involuntary intoxication, malicious prosecution, child neglect trials
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday it will hear appeals in six cases, including the question of whether a person can claim he knowingly ingested one substance that was secretly laced with another behavior-altering substance as a defense to criminal charges. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to grant an…
-
Appeals court rules Colorado free speech law applies in eviction cases, urges legislature to reconsider
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled for the first time last week that a 2019 law intended to protect First Amendment activity from litigation does apply to eviction proceedings and to claims across the board, not simply to defamation lawsuits. However, in an unusual move, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals explicitly called on lawmakers…
-
Boulder County judge, prosecutor blew past deadline, appeals court finds in voiding restitution
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday erased the $3,157 a man convicted of burglary owed to his victims because a Boulder County judge and prosecutor disregarded the deadline in state law for ordering restitution. The same day, the Court of Appeals also overturned another defendant’s obligation to pay $17,360 in restitution, again because a trial judge did…
-
Divided appeals court finds no misconduct from Denver prosecutor’s inflammatory argument
While the Colorado Supreme Court has established that prosecutors may not characterize a witness’s testimony as a “lie,” the state’s second-highest court has decided, by 2-1, a Denver prosecutor did not cross the line by repeatedly using a synonym for “lie.” Jurors convicted Rigoberto E. Fernandez in 2015 for stabbing a man at Montbello Recreation…
-
Colorado appeals court sides with customer sued over negative online review
A series of statements a Colorado Springs woman made online and through the media about a plumbing company are protected under the law and do not amount to defamation, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last month. The decision from the Court of Appeals is the latest to address the tension between customers who leave critical online…