Judge Grant Sullivan
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Appeals judge urges Colorado Supreme Court to analyze alimony obligations after spouses’ remarriage
A member of Colorado’s second-highest court urged the state Supreme Court on Thursday to address a question that has produced inconsistent answers over five decades: When divorcing spouses agree that one must pay the other alimony, do they need to explicitly mention what will happen if the receiving spouse gets remarried? The purpose of alimony,…
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Appeals court reminds judges to advise defendants of rights prior to virtual sentencings
Colorado’s second-highest court reminded trial judges on Thursday that they must advise criminal defendants of their right to appear in person before imposing a sentence virtually. A Boulder County jury convicted Levi Valles in November 2022 of multiple offenses, but Valles experienced a severe medical emergency prior to sentencing. Consequently, he was unable to appear…
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Appeals court orders new murder trial for teen after judge blocked self-defense evidence
Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a defendant’s murder conviction last week after concluding an Arapahoe County judge wrongly barred evidence suggesting the man acted in self-defense. There was no dispute that 18-year-old Joseph Dean McCaughin shot and killed 16-year-old Ryan Robertson in Aurora in May 2019. In the prosecution’s telling, McCaughin was jealous of Robertson, who was…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases on parole revocation, debt collection
The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced it will decide whether people must appeal their revocation of parole to the parole board itself, or if they can seek judicial review directly. At least three of the seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. The justices also will decide whether a debt collection company…
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El Paso County prosecutor’s pattern of violations prompts appeals court to uphold dismissal of charges
Colorado’s second-highest court last week agreed an El Paso County judge was justified in dismissing some of the charges from a criminal case in response to a prosecutor’s repeated failure to timely disclose evidence. The Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office argued that District Court Judge Samuel Evig had not found prosecutor Jessica Kiel committed a…
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Appeals court clarifies prohibition on lawyers doubling as witnesses covers more than jury trials
Colorado’s second-highest court clarified on Thursday that the rule generally prohibiting lawyers from also serving as witnesses at trial does not apply only to jury trials. Under Colorado’s rules of professional conduct, an attorney cannot litigate a case when the lawyer is likely to be a necessary witness “at trial.” There are limited exceptions, including…
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Motor vehicle repair law splits appeals court 3 ways, with call for legislature to step in
Colorado’s second-highest court was unusually divided on Thursday over the state’s consumer protection law for vehicle owners, with three judges issuing three separate opinions about what the terms of the law require. The Motor Vehicle Repair Act places obligations on repair facilities to provide certain disclosures and estimates to customers before beginning work. If a…
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Divided appeals court rules child neglect determinations cannot hinge on uncertain effects of drug exposure
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that a recent change to the state’s child neglect laws requires more than just the possibility an infant exposed to drugs at birth will experience negative health effects in the future. Prior to 2020, a court could declare a child neglected if, among other things, they tested positive at…
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Grant Sullivan, representing state officials from trial courts to SCOTUS, ceremonially sworn in as appeals judge
For years, Grant T. Sullivan had his name attached to high-profile, high-stakes cases filed against Colorado and its public officials in challenges to the state’s election laws, gun safety policies and its non-discrimination directives. At his formal swearing-in ceremony as a judge on the state’s Court of Appeals, Sullivan thanked the policymakers he formerly represented.…
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Appeals court rejects use of 86-year-old SCOTUS decision to challenge DUI conviction
Rejecting a creative argument from a man convicted of driving under the influence, Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday concluded a line from an 86-year-old U.S. Supreme Court decision did not call into question the legitimacy of the defendant’s prior DUI offenses. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the assistance of counsel for criminal defendants. Most famously, the…