judge matthew barrett

In Tina Peters appeal, judges telegraph some degree of reversal | ANALYSIS

Jan 14, 2026

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Michael Karlik

Former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters seems poised to walk away from the state’s Court of Appeals with her criminal convictions largely intact, even as a three-judge appellate panel raised concerns about her sentence and one specific conviction. Peters, a Republican who served one term following her 2018 election, is serving a roughly nine-year prison…
Colorado justices, 5-2, conclude prior version of ‘3 strikes’ law satisfied Constitution

Sep 29, 2025

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Michael Karlik

The state’s highest court ruled on Monday that the version of Colorado’s “three strikes” law that was in effect before this year was constitutionally compliant, notwithstanding a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that prompted the legislature to change how defendants are sentenced. Known as the Habitual Criminal Act, Colorado’s law requires judges to impose three or…
Colorado justices weigh path forward after SCOTUS decision conflicts with ‘3 strikes’ law

Mar 12, 2025

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Michael Karlik

Members of the Colorado Supreme Court considered on Tuesday the request from prosecutors, on the one hand, to interpret the state’s “three strikes” law in a way that is constitutionally compliant, and the defense community’s argument, on the other hand, that the law should be struck down. Known as the Habitual Criminal Act, the law…
Appeals court says defendants must pay restitution even if prosecution ‘undercharges’ them

Feb 3, 2025

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Michael Karlik

Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that criminal defendants must still pay financial restitution to their victims for the losses they cause, even if they are convicted of a crime that caps the dollar amount at something less. In Colorado, as part of sentencing, judges must consider whether defendants owe financial restitution to their victims. Restitution means…
Tina Peters’ contempt finding, $1,500 fine over iPad recording overturned by appeals court

Dec 24, 2024

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Michael Karlik

Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned the contempt conviction and $1,500 fine for former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters, concluding a trial judge did not make all the necessary findings that Peters had willfully disobeyed a court order. Peters is currently serving a nine-year sentence after a jury found her guilty this year of attempting…
Colorado Supreme Court to analyze revisions to child neglect law

Oct 25, 2024

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Michael Karlik

The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday it will decide whether a recent change to the state’s child neglect law requires more than speculation that a parent’s drug use will cause future, negative effects on a newborn. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. The justices…
Appeals court warns against questioning service animals’ status based on ‘suspicions’

Mar 28, 2024

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Michael Karlik

Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday warned that public entities may not ask a disabled person to provide more information about their service animal than what federal regulations allow, regardless of whether they harbor “legitimate suspicions” about the animal’s status. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals determined it was a “close call” whether Dustin…
Appeals court warns against questioning service animals’ status based on ‘suspicions’

Mar 28, 2024

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Michael Karlik

Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday warned that public entities may not ask a disabled person to provide more information about their service animal than what federal regulations allow, regardless of whether they harbor “legitimate suspicions” about the animal’s status. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals determined it was a “close call” whether Dustin…
Mesa County judge’s errors prompt new trial for fertility doctor who used own sperm on patients

Jan 26, 2024

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Michael Karlik

Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday overturned a multimillion-dollar jury award to a pair of patients whose doctor artificially inseminated them with his own sperm, concluding a Mesa County judge’s cascading set of errors warranted a new trial. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals conceded Paul B. Jones, a retired obstetrician-gynecologist from Grand Junction,…
Child neglect rulings in 3 cases reversed by Colorado appeals court

Oct 2, 2023

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Michael Karlik

Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday determined judges in Montrose and Mesa counties improperly ruled against parents in child welfare cases, with one judge being the subject of two reversals. Weeks earlier, Montrose County District Court Judge D. Cory Jackson was reversed a third time by the Court of Appeals because he denied a woman’s request for…