judge joseph whitfield
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Appeals court reluctantly finds last-minute release of evidence by judge, prosecutor justified extension of trial deadline
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday declined to find a defendant’s right to a speedy trial was violated, even as the appellate judges were disturbed that an Arapahoe County judge and prosecutor waited until the last minute to release 31,000 pieces of evidence to the defense. As part of the constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial,…
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Appeals court finds constitutional violation with man’s child sex offense
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded on Thursday that an Arapahoe County man’s conviction for unlawful sexual contact on a child violated his constitutional rights and must be vacated. Jurors convicted Lucas Bienvenido Mena in 2021 of multiple sex offenses after hearing he pushed a 12-year-old relative into a bathroom, touched her genitals and took photos of…
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Englewood police should return defendant’s $160.15 in cash, appeals court says
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Colorado’s second-highest court agreed last month that Englewood police need to give a defendant back the $160 in cash they seized at the time of his 2004 arrest, and a trial judge must evaluate whether other personal items should also be returned to Gabriel Esparza. An Arapahoe County jury convicted Esparza in 2005 of killing his wife,…
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Appeals court upholds contempt for defendant who destroyed phone rather than hand it over to judge
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Colorado’s second-highest court agreed last week that an Arapahoe County judge properly held a criminal defendant in contempt for breaking his own cell phone to avoid handing it over to the judge as directed. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals noted that even if the judge’s attempt to seize the phone was illegal, the…
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Appeals court upholds contempt for defendant who destroyed phone rather than hand it over to judge
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Colorado’s second-highest court agreed last week that an Arapahoe County judge properly held a criminal defendant in contempt for breaking his own cell phone to avoid handing it over to the judge as directed. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals noted that even if the judge’s attempt to seize the phone was illegal, the…
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Appeals court upholds contempt for defendant who destroyed phone rather than hand it over to judge
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by
Colorado’s second-highest court agreed last week that an Arapahoe County judge properly held a criminal defendant in contempt for breaking his own cell phone to avoid handing it over to the judge as directed. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals noted that even if the judge’s attempt to seize the phone was illegal, the…
