judge marcus henson
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Colorado justices, 5-2, rule jury may consider victim’s suicidality in fentanyl distribution case
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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a 2022 state law allows jurors to hear about a victim’s suicidal intentions when determining if a defendant is guilty of selling fentanyl and causing the victim’s death. The justices interpreted for the first time a relatively new law imposing harsher penalties for those who distribute the synthetic opioid…
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El Paso County prosecutor’s pattern of violations prompts appeals court to uphold dismissal of charges
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Colorado’s second-highest court last week agreed an El Paso County judge was justified in dismissing some of the charges from a criminal case in response to a prosecutor’s repeated failure to timely disclose evidence. The Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office argued that District Court Judge Samuel Evig had not found prosecutor Jessica Kiel committed a…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear murder, noise pollution, fentanyl cases
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday it will decide whether a man can be tried a second time for murder after jurors rendered a verdict that made no sense if they had followed their instructions. At least three of the seven justices must agree to hear a case on appeal. The court also elected…
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Colorado Supreme Court returns 3 cases to trial courts with instructions
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The Colorado Supreme Court decided three appeals this month in ongoing civil and criminal cases, either overturning trial judges’ faulty decisions or providing clarification for further proceedings. Although most of the Supreme Court’s decisions come at the conclusion of a case and after the Court of Appeals has rendered its ruling, the justices sometimes elect…
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Colorado Supreme Court to analyze how wage law applies to Amazon holiday pay
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The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced it will decide whether Amazon is complying with the state’s wage law by excluding shifts worked on holidays when calculating employees’ overtime pay. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear an appeal. The case addressing overtime pay came to the Supreme Court through an…
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Appeals court finds no racial discrimination by El Paso County prosecutor
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last month that an El Paso County prosecutor did not engage in racial discrimination by dismissing two jurors of color from a criminal trial, based on their concerns over aggressive policing. Under longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, intentional race-based discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional. If a prosecutor tries to remove…
