judge jaclyn casey brown
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Colorado justices accept 3 appeals to sort out issues from landmark restitution ruling
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday it will hear three cases to rein in the confusion that has developed in the wake of its landmark 2021 decision addressing the process for making criminal defendants pay financial restitution to their victims. The questions the justices will answer include: • Can a defendant’s plea agreement relinquish…
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Colorado justices accept 3 appeals to sort out issues from landmark restitution ruling
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday it will hear three cases to rein in the confusion that has developed in the wake of its landmark 2021 decision addressing the process for making criminal defendants pay financial restitution to their victims. The questions the justices will answer include: • Can a defendant’s plea agreement relinquish…
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Douglas County judge let prosecutors present misleading evidence of sex assault, appeals court rules
A Douglas County judge allowed prosecutors to mislead the jury into thinking they should still convict a man of sexual assault despite the absence of his DNA, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday in overturning the convictions of Clayton Angus Hood. Jurors found Hood guilty of raping a teenage girl who lived in his household.…
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Douglas County judge let prosecutors present misleading evidence of sex assault, appeals court rules
A Douglas County judge allowed prosecutors to mislead the jury into thinking they should still convict a man of sexual assault despite the absence of his DNA, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday in overturning the convictions of Clayton Angus Hood. Jurors found Hood guilty of raping a teenage girl who lived in his household.…
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Colorado Supreme Court to review limits on negligence claims in case over Denver restaurant fire
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will review whether a judicially created rule barring certain types of negligence claims applies when a defendant acts recklessly to cause an injury. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take up an appeal. The justices also signaled they may intervene in…
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No ‘right answer’: Colorado justices to decide who owns mineral rights under street
Nearly a half century ago, a developer in Greeley sold off the lots surrounding W. 11th Street Road. The deeds did not explicitly say what happened to the mineral rights underneath the road. Decades later, after advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling rendered the mineral rights under the road – and other rights-of-way across the…
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Appeals court rebuffs Alamosa County judge for flippant denial of sentence reduction
An Alamosa County judge’s single-sentence explanation denying a defendant’s request for a sentence reduction – that it was “not well taken” – was itself not well taken by Colorado’s second-highest court. Prosecutors originally charged Desiree Lee Espinoza with multiple serious offenses, including attempted murder and assault. She pleaded guilty to kidnaping and received a 16-year prison sentence…
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Denver sex assault verdict reversed after expert vouched for victim’s credibility
Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a defendant’s child sex assault convictions earlier this month because an expert witness, who had no connection to the specific case, effectively told jurors the victim’s explanations were true. In child sex assault cases, a generalized, or “blind,” expert may testify about how alleged victims react to and disclose incidents of…
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Appeals court orders Jeffco judge to reinstate dismissed drug charges
Even though nearly seven months passed between the defendant’s arrest and the filing of criminal charges, Colorado’s second-highest court determined a Jefferson County judge was wrong to dismiss the case and ordered him to resume the drug-related proceedings. Under Colorado law, prosecutors are required to bring charges together in a single case if a defendant…
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Appeals court says Larimer County judge wrongly forced DA to prosecute assault
A Larimer County judge wrongly applied an unusual Colorado law when he overruled a decision by the district attorney’s office to not prosecute one participant in a multi-person brawl, the state’s second-highest court ruled last week. Colorado is one of four states that allows judges to review prosecutors’ decisions not to charge someone suspected of…