judge jerry jones
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Douglas County judge wrongly let man represent self at trial, appeals court finds
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A Douglas County judge failed to ensure a defendant understood the charges against him and the consequences of proceeding without a lawyer before she allowed him to represent himself at trial, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. Criminal defendants may give up their constitutional right to counsel, but the decision must be voluntary, intelligent and…
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Divided appeals court upholds defendant’s longer sentence for not saying ‘sorry’
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday upheld an Adams County judge’s decision to give a defendant five more years in prison solely because he did not tell the judge he was sorry. By 2-1, a three judge panel for the Court of Appeals agreed that under certain circumstances, a defendant’s silence at sentencing cannot be used…
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Colorado justices question whether cab company is liable for passenger’s assault of good Samaritan
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When Jose Garcia intervened to stop a belligerent passenger from assaulting a taxicab driver, it was a foreseeable event given the risks that drivers regularly face, both he and the cab company agreed. But when the passenger stole the cab and used it to run Garcia over, causing massive injury, Colorado Cab Company insisted the…
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Appeals court judge suggests Supreme Court revisit ruling about defendants’ seized property
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One judge on the state’s second-highest court has suggested the Colorado Supreme Court clarify its own recent decision governing how convicted defendants may recover personal items seized by police, calling the ruling logically inconsistent. In December, the Supreme Court decided Woo v. El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, involving a convicted defendant who claimed law enforcement had failed…
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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…
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Oral arguments, caseloads and bad lawyering: Appellate judges and justices provide peek behind judicial curtain
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Nearly all members of the Colorado Supreme Court and half of the judges on the Court of Appeals convened with attorneys on Friday to give a behind-the-scenes tour of the inner workings of the judiciary, and to voice concern about the escalating number of issues they are being asked to decide in appeals. The topics…
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Colorado appeals court overturns convictions after Garfield County judge violated right to counsel
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A Garfield County judge failed to follow the proper procedure when he effectively forced a criminal defendant to represent himself at trial, prompting the state’s Court of Appeals to reverse the convictions on Thursday. A jury convicted Tony Lee Bergman Jr. of multiple offenses related to the possession of child pornography. During the three years…
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Divided appeals court OK’s corrections department’s violation of speedy trial law
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Colorado’s second-highest court last month declined to overturn a man’s Arapahoe County convictions, while acknowledging the head of the Colorado Department of Corrections failed to follow a law designed to give detainees a speedy trial. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals noted the department’s then-executive director, Rick Raemisch, did not forward to the…