judge craig welling
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Appeals judges tell Boulder students about workload, ‘attack mode’ during school visit
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Three judges on Colorado’s second-highest court traveled to Boulder on Tuesday to hear oral arguments in real cases and field questions from students about their professional paths, their workload on the Court of Appeals, and their approach to interacting with attorneys. “Sometimes, I regret my tone. I will admit that I get a little too…
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Divided appeals court reverses murder convictions due to faulty self-defense instruction
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last week that an incomplete self-defense instruction required the reversal of an El Paso County defendant’s murder convictions. Demetrius Montez Martin was among those present late at night at a club in Colorado Springs. An argument ensued and Martin got in his vehicle and drove off. Someone fired multiple gunshots in…
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Divided Colorado Supreme Court curtails use of laced-substances defense
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday walked back the ability of criminal defendants to claim their conduct was the result of consuming an intoxicating substance that secretly contained another behavior-altering substance. Under state law, “involuntary intoxication” is an affirmative defense, meaning the prosecution has to disprove some component of that defense for the jury to…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear cases on insurance coverage for COVID, witness credibility
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that it will decide the degree to which a virus or other hazard must affect a commercial property before it can trigger loss-or-damage coverage under an insurance policy. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. Currently, there is one…
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In Tina Peters appeal, judges telegraph some degree of reversal | ANALYSIS
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Former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters seems poised to walk away from the state’s Court of Appeals with her criminal convictions largely intact, even as a three-judge appellate panel raised concerns about her sentence and one specific conviction. Peters, a Republican who served one term following her 2018 election, is serving a roughly nine-year prison…
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Appeals court orders new menacing trial after faulty self-defense instruction
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Colorado’s second-highest court ordered a new trial last week for an El Paso County defendant convicted of felony menacing, concluding an erroneous self-defense instruction may have influenced the verdict. Under Colorado law, self-defense is an affirmative defense, meaning the prosecution must disprove at least one component in addition to proving the underlying offense. Judges are…
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Appeals court clarifies framework for parents’ First Amendment rights in child-naming disputes
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Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a Jefferson County judge’s order last week in a long-running dispute about whether two ex-spouses must call their child by his first name or middle name outside the home. In doing so, a three-judge Court of Appeals panel clarified that the standard for restricting a parent’s free speech rights is a…
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Appeals judge believes revised ‘reasonable doubt’ definition is unconstitutional
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Although Colorado’s second-highest court has issued multiple decisions in recent months upholding a revised definition of “reasonable doubt” from three years ago, an appellate judge became the first on Thursday to argue that a key phrase violates defendants’ constitutional right to due process. Judge Michael H. Berger warned that, in his view, it is problematic…
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CDOT did not violate constitutional rights of outdoor advertising company, appeals court says
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last month that the Colorado Department of Transportation did not violate the constitutional rights of an outdoor advertising company by denying two permits for billboards in Adams County. StreetMediaGroup, LLC argued CDOT violated its right to equal protection under the law by allowing “large, influential competitors” to maintain signs not in…
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Colorado Supreme Court to examine whether corporations can be liable for ‘felonious killing’
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The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced that it will determine whether corporations can be liable for a “felonious killing,” meaning there is no limit to the damages they might pay for pain and suffering after causing a wrongful death. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take a case on appeal.…
