judge craig welling
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Denver judge wrongly found government had proven juvenile’s probation violation, says appeals court
Colorado’s second-highest court last month rejected a Denver judge’s conclusion that a juvenile defendant had violated the terms of his probation, which resulted in a sentence of 15 days’ detention plus additional probation. In a May 1 opinion, a three-judge Court of Appeals panel noted a juvenile identified as M.M-S. pleaded guilty to possessing a…
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Appeals court rejects teacher union challenge to ‘partially effective’ performance rating
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday rejected the claim that the state’s board of education exceeded its authority by allowing a teacher’s “partially effective” performance rating to negatively affect his or her job protections. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel also concluded the board acted properly in limiting the reasons why a teacher can appeal an…
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Colorado’s new ‘reasonable doubt’ instruction upheld, despite cautions from some appeals judges
Colorado’s second-highest court has upheld the recently reworded definition of “reasonable doubt” that appears in the template jury instructions for criminal trials, which generated controversy at the time of its debut. In a pair of precedent-setting opinions issued the same day last week, two separate panels for the Court of Appeals found no legal deficiency…
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‘Dabs made me do it?’ Colorado justices ponder when defendants can rely on laced drugs as defense
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court struggled last week to determine where to draw the line between allowing defendants to argue they unwittingly consumed a substance that caused them to engage in criminal behavior, while also preventing a wave of unsubstantiated claims about laced drugs. Under state law, “involuntary intoxication” is an affirmative defense, meaning…
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‘Deceivingly complicated’: Appeals judges talk to lawyers about postconviction cases
Members of Colorado’s second-highest court told lawyers and judges on Thursday what they are looking for when a convicted defendant argues they are entitled to relief for reasons beyond the typical array of trial-related errors. In contrast to direct appeals of criminal convictions, which usually allege errors before trial, at trial or at sentencing, defendants…
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Colorado Supreme Court approves new rules for child welfare cases, with tweaks to jury trial right
The Colorado Supreme Court adopted on Monday a package of revisions to the rules governing child welfare cases, while modifying one section that governs when a parent surrenders their right to have a jury decide if their child is neglected. Earlier this month, the justices held a hearing to evaluate the long-running group effort to…
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Colorado justices hear about broad support for juvenile rules package, with one legal hitch
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court heard on Wednesday that a long-running group effort to revise the rules of juvenile procedure has culminated in an acceptable package of changes — including a proposed answer to one disputed legal question pending before the justices. During a public comment hearing and in written remarks submitted beforehand, members of the court…
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Appeals court orders new Weld County murder trial after judge refused to give self-defense instruction
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday decided a Weld County judge should have instructed jurors to consider whether a man accused of murder acted in self-defense, given that some evidence at the crime scene supported that theory. Jurors convicted Kenneth James Hoschouer III in 2021 of murdering his friend, Christopher Grau, at Grau’s residence in Firestone two years…
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Appeals court overturns Douglas County judge’s unlawful $22k restitution order
A Douglas County judge ordered a defendant to pay crime victim restitution eight months beyond the legal deadline and nearly two years after the Colorado Supreme Court warned trial judges to follow the law, the state’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. The Court of Appeals also noted former District Court Judge Patricia Herron “recharacterized history”…