judge david furman
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2 defendants’ sentences upheld for threatening judges
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Colorado’s second-highest court recently upheld the convictions and sentences of two men who made threats against judges, rejecting allegations made on appeal about bias and procedural improprieties. In the first case out of Denver, then-District Court Judge Morris B. Hoffman sentenced Eric Brandt, who has a history of agitating against law enforcement, to 12 years in…
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Polis names first Black judge to Court of Appeals in 4 years
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Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday announced his appointment of Denver Juvenile Court Judge Pax Moultrie to Colorado’s second-highest court, ending the four-year span in which no Black judges sat on the Court of Appeals. The last Black member of the Court of Appeals, Karen M. Ashby, retired in 2019. Like Moultrie, she also served on…
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Divided appeals court finds no misconduct from Denver prosecutor’s inflammatory argument
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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…
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Colorado appeals court says officer’s claim that suspected drunk driver refused test isn’t enough
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A police officer’s claim that a suspected drunk driver refused a blood or breath test, without any additional details, was insufficient to justify a suspension of the driver’s license, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week. Under the state’s “express consent law,” motorists automatically give their consent to a chemical test whenever law enforcement has probable…
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Colorado appeals court expands ability for defendants to have postconviction claims investigated
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Colorado’s second-highest court clarified last month that defendants who have at least one credible claim for postconviction relief are entitled to have appointed attorneys consider and investigate all other claims, without a judge imposing restrictions. A three-member panel for the Court of Appeals agreed a judge in El Paso County was wrong to screen a…
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Colorado appeals court divided on timeline for awarding restitution to crime victims
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Nearly two years after the Colorado Supreme Court clarified that the typical method by which judges and prosecutors were awarding restitution to crime victims was incorrect, the state’s Court of Appeals is again divided over what the proper procedure looks like. Last week, a three-judge appellate panel disagreed whether El Paso County District Court Judge…
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‘The law is the law’: Conifer students experience real appellate cases, quiz judges
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For a select group of attorneys who argued their cases before Colorado’s Court of Appeals on Tuesday, the experience was different in two key ways: First, they traded the ornate courtrooms of downtown Denver for the picturesque foothills 30 miles to the west. Second, the most pointed questioning did not necessarily come from the court.…
