judge craig welling
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El Paso County sex assault convictions overturned due to judge’s incorrect competency ruling
Colorado’s second-highest court last month vacated a man’s 15-year-old convictions for sexually assaulting a child, finding an El Paso County judge made a flawed determination that the defendant was competent to stand trial. In doing so, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals cautioned it may not be feasible to determine now whether Theodore William…
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Appeals court divided over whether La Plata County judge’s illegal sentence is ‘salvageable’
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday agreed a La Plata County judge imposed an illegal sentence, but remained divided about whether it should repair the problem itself. In the underlying case, Jacob Daniel John Jost pleaded guilty in 2023 to criminal mischief and received a sentence of two years’ probation. Later that year, he violated his…
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Colorado justices say no automatic reversal when jury convicts on different crime than charged
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday there is no automatic reversal of a defendant’s convictions if jurors rely on instructions that outline a different crime than the one prosecutors charged in the first place. The justices concluded that such a change, known as a “constructive amendment,” does not fall in the category of structural…
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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…
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Appeals court orders new trial in stalking case a year after U.S. Supreme Court finds flaw
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday ordered a new trial in the Arapahoe County stalking case that went all the way to the nation’s highest court and resulted in a new burden for prosecutors seeking to convict alleged stalkers based on their communications. Last year, by 7-2, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Counterman…
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Appeals court says car crash victim’s pregnancies irrelevant to personal injury trial
Colorado’s second-highest court determined last week that a Weld County judge should not have instructed jurors to consider a car crash victim’s subsequent pregnancies and the disruption they had to her treatment when deciding how much money she should receive for her injuries. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals concluded the evidence did…
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Colorado justices accept 3 appeals to sort out issues from landmark restitution ruling
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday it will hear three cases to rein in the confusion that has developed in the wake of its landmark 2021 decision addressing the process for making criminal defendants pay financial restitution to their victims. The questions the justices will answer include: • Can a defendant’s plea agreement relinquish…
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Colorado justices accept 3 appeals to sort out issues from landmark restitution ruling
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday it will hear three cases to rein in the confusion that has developed in the wake of its landmark 2021 decision addressing the process for making criminal defendants pay financial restitution to their victims. The questions the justices will answer include: • Can a defendant’s plea agreement relinquish…
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Colorado justices accept 3 appeals to sort out issues from landmark restitution ruling
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday it will hear three cases to rein in the confusion that has developed in the wake of its landmark 2021 decision addressing the process for making criminal defendants pay financial restitution to their victims. The questions the justices will answer include: ? Can a defendant’s plea agreement relinquish…
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Appeals court clarifies ‘work product’ exemption to Colorado open records law
Colorado’s second-highest court last month clarified a draft report that is not subject to any meaningful decision-making by elected officials is a disclosable document under the state’s open records law. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals agreed Durango was required to disclose a draft of its 2021 financial report under the Colorado Open…