judge lino lipinsky
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Colorado justices expand ability for civil defendants to avoid participating, win after trial
The Colorado Supreme Court decided on Tuesday that a civil defendant, whose non-participation in the case meant that he legally admitted to the sexual assault allegations against him, could nonetheless prevail after he showed up to testify at trial. A plaintiff identified as J.B. filed suit against Metro Taxi on behalf of her child, E.B.,…
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Colorado Supreme Court declines to loosen requirements for insurance company defendants
The Colorado Supreme Court declined last week to reconsider its longstanding expectations for insurance company defendants, and agreed that an insurer failed to properly raise its defenses against a policyholder’s breach-of-contract lawsuit. When an insured driver has an accident with someone who is uninsured, they may obtain benefits under their own insurance policy for the…
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Colorado Supreme Court to decide whether out-of-state defendant may be prosecuted for in-state crime
The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced that it will decide whether Douglas County prosecutors had grounds to pursue criminal charges against a woman in New York whose conduct occurred outside of Colorado. Erin Brennan and her children lived in New York, and her ex-husband moved to Colorado after their divorce. In 2022, she proposed a…
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Jeffco murder conviction overturned due to improper evidence
Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a defendant’s convictions for murder and aggravated robbery earlier this month, finding that a Jefferson County judge allowed evidence that improperly suggested the man had “bad character” for possessing guns generally. Under the rules for criminal cases, evidence cannot be used to prove a defendant has bad character, and they acted…
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Colorado justices skeptical of defendant’s challenge to flawed jury instruction
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared willing to uphold a defendant’s vehicular eluding conviction on Tuesday, suggesting that an incorrectly worded jury instruction was not an obvious and harmful error in light of the defense’s choice not to dispute the evidence. A Denver jury convicted Jeffery Sloan of killing Yasir Hasan and Mark Karla by running…
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Appeals court recognizes weekend, holiday rule applies to judicial review deadline
Colorado’s second-highest court clarified for the first time last week that the rule extending deadlines in civil cases when the final day falls on a weekend or holiday also applies to litigants seeking review of governmental decisions. Nicholas A. Rigato was incarcerated at Fremont Correctional Facility when prison officials found him guilty of three conduct…
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Appeals court reverses conviction after judge blocked questioning about witness’s criminal charges
An Arapahoe County judge violated a defendant’s constitutional right to confront the witnesses against him by blocking the defense from asking a witness about her own pending criminal charges in the same jurisdiction, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week. Prosecutors charged Jose Garcia Valdivia with multiple counts of assault and felony menacing. Garcia allegedly got…
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The influencers? Some Colorado appeals judges outpace colleagues in setting legal precedent
A handful of judges on Colorado’s second-highest court are producing substantially more precedent-setting opinions than their colleagues, which create binding interpretations of the law that reach beyond individual cases. The Court of Appeals issues approximately 1,700 opinions each year. A small number receives state Supreme Court review, but the appellate court is otherwise the final…
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Colorado justices weigh fairness concerns after defendant prevailed despite ghosting case
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court struggled on Tuesday to balance the need for one defendant to shield itself against a plaintiff’s claim that its employee sexually assaulted her child, and the fact that the employee legally admitted the allegations against him by failing to participate in nearly all of the civil case. A plaintiff…
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Appeals judges tell Boulder students about workload, ‘attack mode’ during school visit
Three judges on Colorado’s second-highest court traveled to Boulder on Tuesday to hear oral arguments in real cases and field questions from students about their professional paths, their workload on the Court of Appeals, and their approach to interacting with attorneys. “Sometimes, I regret my tone. I will admit that I get a little too…