judge lino lipinsky
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear 2 Denver criminal appeals
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will decide whether the state’s second-highest court correctly overturned a defendant’s vehicular eluding conviction due to the faulty wording of a jury instruction. The justices also will review whether the Court of Appeals properly rejected an appeal by prosecutors that was filed beyond the procedural deadline,…
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Colorado had no ability to prosecute New York woman for unauthorized credit card use, appeals court rules
Douglas County prosecutors had no basis to pursue charges of identity theft and unauthorized use of a financial device against a woman in New York whose conduct occurred entirely outside of Colorado, the state’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. Erin Brennan and her children lived in New York and her ex-husband moved to Colorado after…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear cases on rezoning via ballot box, defaulting defendants
The justices may also intervene in two ongoing criminal cases
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Colorado Supreme Court upholds new trial for teen convicted of felony murder
The Colorado Supreme Court ordered a new trial for an Aurora teenager on Monday, agreeing a defendant need not admit to committing an underlying offense to assert a defense to the more serious crime of felony murder. Felony murder is a unique offense, in which a defendant is guilty if he participates in certain crimes, such as…
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Appeals court upholds firearms prohibition as part of involuntary mental health treatment
Colorado’s second-highest court on Wednesday upheld the process for barring firearm possession for anyone who is involuntarily committed short-term to mental health treatment. A man identified as R.Z. argued his rights were violated when a Denver judge entered an order affecting his ability to own guns because he met the criteria for short-term mental health…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases on police interrogation, mid-trial appeal
The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced it will determine whether a convicted defendant should receive a new trial after detectives interrogated him without probable cause and while executing a narrow order to obtain his DNA. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take up a case on appeal. The justices also…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases on leaving the scene of accidents, insurance
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will consider whether prosecutors must prove defendants knew they were involved in an accident resulting in death or serious injury in order to be convicted for leaving the scene. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. The…
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Appeals court rejects allegations of racial discrimination in jury selection in 2 cases
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last month that prosecutors in two cases did not engage in intentional racial discrimination when they dismissed two women of color from the jury pool. Under longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, purposeful race-based discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional. Normally, parties may exercise “peremptory strikes” of jurors without citing a reason.…
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‘We all have to take care of each other’: Appeals judges get personal in Jeffco high school appearance
Three members of the Court of Appeals fielded questions from Jefferson County students on Thursday about the personal aspects of judging, including how they combat their biases and how the cases they hear affect their mental health. Judge Lino S. Lipinsky de Orlov responded that the judges signed up to deal with difficult subject matter,…
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Appeals court says no automatic cross-examination of witnesses whose probation ends by trial
If a person was serving a probationary sentence at the time they witnessed a crime, but their probation ended by the time they testified at trial, the defense does not have the right to let jurors hear about that witness’s connection to the prosecution, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. A three-judge panel for the…