judge diana may
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Colorado Supreme Court dings El Paso County DA’s office for filing appeal in wrong court
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El Paso County prosecutors incorrectly filed an appeal with the Colorado Supreme Court, the justices ruled on Monday, explaining that a trial judge did not, in fact, declare a law unconstitutional and enable the state’s highest court to hear the case directly. Under state law and the procedural rules, district attorneys have a duty to…
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No constitutional right to plead guilty, appeals court says in upholding El Paso County convictions
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An El Paso County judge was not constitutionally obligated to accept a defendant’s guilty plea, Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last week. Appealing his convictions, Timothy Ray Scott Jr. argued his trial judge violated his constitutional right to “autonomy” by not letting him plead guilty. The U.S. Supreme Court has previously interpreted the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of…
