judge jerry jones
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Colorado Supreme Court committee debates tenant-friendly eviction proposal
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court’s civil rules committee vigorously debated a proposed rule change last month that would make it easier for tenants facing eviction to respond to and learn about their landlord’s initial court filing. As drafted, the disputed provision would require that a case number be assigned to a landlord’s complaint before…
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Colorado justices accept restitution appeal, agree to sort out confusion from prior ruling
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will hear yet another case about crime victim restitution and will also address a problem created by one of its prior decisions that restricted how convicted defendants can take advantage of favorable law changes on appeal. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree…
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Colorado Supreme Court walks back decision allowing localities to broadly permit violations of noise limits
The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday that the state’s noise pollution law does not allow local governments to categorically permit any entity to host events on private property that exceed the statewide decibel limits. The question had divided the state’s Court of Appeals, with one appellate panel deciding localities do have broad permitting power…
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Appeals court calls out Denver judge for illogical denial of sentence reduction
A Denver judge wrongly rejected a convicted defendant’s request for a sentence reduction because his stated reasons for denying the motion could not possibly have been true, Colorado’s second-highest court concluded on Thursday. Jurors convicted Brent M. Kelley in 2018 of second-degree murder and a drug offense. He received a 47-year prison sentence. After appealing…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases on campaign transparency, crime victim restitution
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will review whether the state’s requirement that ballot issue advocacy groups disclose the name of their legal representative on their election communications violates the First Amendment. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear an appeal. The justices also accepted a case implicating Colorado’s crime…
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Appeals judge calls for investigation into law firm’s handling of potential murder weapon
A member of Colorado’s second-highest court took the extraordinary step on Thursday of calling for an investigation into the “serious ethical issues” raised by a criminal defense firm’s concealment of a potential murder weapon at its office without notifying the prosecution. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel upheld the convictions of Daniel Jesus Lopez, who is…
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Colorado Supreme Court committee solidifies revisions to magistrate rules
The Colorado Supreme Court’s civil rules committee approved a set of revisions on Friday to the protocols governing magistrates, in response to the justices’ specific concerns about the attempt to streamline rules that court decisions have long called out as confusing. Magistrates are judicial employees who are not judges but who handle aspects of cases in…
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El Paso County judge wrongly dismissed case after victim failed to show, appeals court rules
An El Paso County judge incorrectly dismissed a domestic violence case after the alleged victim did not appear on the morning of trial, when she should have instead granted the prosecution’s request to issue a warrant, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week. Under the rules of criminal procedure, a judge “shall issue” a warrant for…
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Appeals court finds Denver judge wrongly let child witness testify by CCTV
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that a Denver judge violated the constitutional rights of a juvenile defendant by allowing the victim, who was also a child, to testify in a different room out of concern for the “influence” of the defendant’s parents. However, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals concluded the error…
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Appeals court says prosecutors may use evidence of defendant abusing witness to boost credibility
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week that prosecutors may introduce evidence at trial of a defendant’s past abuse of a witness if it will help jurors understand why the witness may have originally lied to protect the defendant. Romando Marquis Jones and Dacey Spinuzzi are both serving prison sentences for the death of 14-month-old Aiden Seeley, who…