judge daniel taubman
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Parole, appeals deadlines and restitution: Colorado justices accept cases
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will determine how a defendant’s parole-eligibility date should be calculated in instances where a new trial results in a sentence being imposed retroactively to the date of the original, since-overturned sentence. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case on…
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Appeals court clarifies meaning of ‘at-risk’ victim based on breathing disability
Colorado’s second-highest court clarified last month that victims qualify as “at-risk” under state law if they required mechanical assistance to breathe on the date of the offense against them. El Paso County prosecutors charged Jon Claude Crow with third-degree assault, which is ordinarily a misdemeanor. It becomes a felony if the assault is on an…
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Divided appeals court reverses conviction after judge declined to define ‘bludgeon’
Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a Jefferson County defendant’s felony menacing conviction on Thursday, concluding that the trial judge’s failure to define “bludgeon” for jurors may have affected the outcome. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel divided in unusual ways in the case of Michael Casey Simms. Two judges believed the definition of “reasonable doubt” that…
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Divided appeals court finds no prosecutorial misconduct in prison assault case
Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last week that a Lincoln County prosecutor did not misstate the law to a degree that undermined a jury’s assault verdict against the defendant. During closing arguments in Phillip Archuleta’s 2023 trial, the prosecutor suggested to jurors that Archuleta did not have to make contact with a corrections officer during a…
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SCOTUS decides Colorado case, state’s newest justice authors first opinion | COURT CRAWL
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. The nation’s highest court decided a First Amendment case out of Colorado, plus the state’s newest justice issued her first opinion since joining the Colorado Supreme Court last month. Heard on appeal • The state Supreme Court decided that news organizations…
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Appeals court divided over effect of retroactive sentence on parole calculation
Colorado’s second-highest court grappled last week with the framework for calculating a defendant’s earliest possible parole date in light of two intersecting legal principles — a judge’s ability to make an order retroactive, and the requirement that separate, simultaneous sentences be treated as one continuous sentence. By 2-1, a three-judge Court of Appeals panel decided…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases about reliability of gun-to-bullet matching
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will hear two cases questioning the reliability of expert testimony that purports to identify whether a specific bullet was fired from a specific gun. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take up a case on appeal. There is currently one vacancy,…
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Second appeals judge voices concerns about new ‘reasonable doubt’ instruction
Another member of Colorado’s second-highest court registered his concern on Thursday that a portion of the recently revised “reasonable doubt” definition improperly lowers the prosecution’s burden to prove a defendant guilty. Judge Daniel M. Taubman wrote that the current instruction advising jurors to acquit whenever there is “a real possibility the defendant is not guilty”…
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Appeals judge calls for investigation into law firm’s handling of potential murder weapon
A member of Colorado’s second-highest court took the extraordinary step on Thursday of calling for an investigation into the “serious ethical issues” raised by a criminal defense firm’s concealment of a potential murder weapon at its office without notifying the prosecution. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel upheld the convictions of Daniel Jesus Lopez, who is…
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Colorado justices weigh new trial for defendant barred from testifying about his lawyer’s advice
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court considered last week whether a man serving a lengthy prison sentence for securities fraud should receive a new trial, after he was prohibited from testifying about what information his lawyer advised him to disclose to investors. Kelly James Schnorenberg contended he did not commit securities fraud because he consulted…