judge david yun
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Appeals court declines to open door to challenges of already-final convictions
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday declined to apply a major state Supreme Court decision retroactively and enable more people to challenge their criminal convictions. In 2022, the Supreme Court issued Rojas v. People – a decision that eliminated a “troublesome relic” from the rules of evidence. Known as the “res gestae” doctrine, it enabled prosecutors to introduce evidence…
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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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Douglas County judge wrongly let man represent himself, appeals court rules in reversing convictions
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A Douglas County judge was wrong to let a man represent himself at trial without ensuring he understood the basic elements of his case first, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday in overturning the defendant’s convictions. The Court of Appeals’ decision was the second time this year it ordered a new trial for David Antonio…
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Wrongful death suit over Mesa County apartment fire may proceed, appeals court rules
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Two women may proceed to sue a Mesa County landlord for their mother’s death in an apartment fire, after Colorado’s second-highest court ruled the wrongful death claims do not belong in the privately run arbitration system. The owners of 3272 F Road in Clifton argued Deborah Wood’s rental agreement required her and her heirs to…
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Colorado’s urban renewal law under scrutiny by state Supreme Court
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For years, Colorado’s urban renewal law has enabled local governments to spur redevelopment of areas deemed blighted, with downtown Golden, Denver’s Central Park neighborhood, and the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora among the projects completed under the state’s framework. On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court examined a key tool that urban renewal authorities use to…
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Appeals court overturns convictions of mentally ill man who represented himself
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An Arapahoe County judge improperly allowed a mentally ill man to represent himself at trial, stating explicitly that the defendant was “making no sense whatsoever” before letting him proceed alone, Colorado’s second highest court ruled in ordering a new trial. Then-District Court Judge Michael Spear attempted to convince David Antonio Ruffin that he would be…
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El Paso County child sex assault convictions reversed after appeals court finds errors
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A man convicted of multiple child sex offenses will receive a new trial after Colorado’s second-highest court determined his defense lawyers likely contributed to the guilty verdict by failing to object to damaging testimony about the defendant’s other, uncharged misconduct. An El Paso County jury in 2013 found Daniel C. Oliver guilty of felony sex…
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Arapahoe County judge let biased juror serve, prompting reversal of serial rapist’s convictions
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A man with a history of raping women, who is serving 136 years in prison, will receive a new trial after the state’s second-highest court concluded an Arapahoe County judge allowed a biased juror to serve in the 2021 trial. On Thursday, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals concluded, by 2-1, that it…
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Aurora firefighters union may seek entry into consent decree lawsuit, appeals court rules
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The union representing Aurora’s firefighters could be allowed to join the litigation between the city and the state that resulted in a consent decree addressing unlawful police and paramedic behavior, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week. The agreement to reform the city’s policies came after Attorney General Phil Weiser released a report in 2021 documenting…
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Colorado appeals court, 2-1, rules defendant not entitled to arresting officer’s discipline file
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In a divided ruling, Colorado’s second-highest court found a man convicted of assaulting an Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputy was not entitled to a review of the victim’s personnel records and potential history of excessive force. Marcos Casillas did not dispute that he was guilty of resisting arrest and obstructing a peace officer, nor that he…