judge matthew grove
-
Appeals court reinstates felony charge, reverses Denver judge’s sanction on prosecution
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court ordered a Denver judge on Thursday to reinstate a defendant’s felony charge, finding she improperly reduced the severity as a sanction for an officer’s deletion of his body-worn camera footage. Prosecutors charged Russell K. Barnes with vehicular eluding, after police attempted to stop a Toyota 4Runner registered to Barnes but discontinued their…
-
Appeals court rules civil trial over Kendrick Castillo’s death not required if STEM School pays max damages
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court determined on Thursday that a civil trial over the 2019 shooting death of Kendrick Castillo is not required after the defendant agreed to pay the maximum damages available to Castillo’s parents, without admitting liability. John and Maria Castillo, the parents of Kendrick, sued STEM School Highlands Ranch in 2021, two years after…
-
Appeals court says claims cannot be based on increased risk of future health problems
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last week that state law does not recognize a plaintiff’s claim that a defendant’s actions increased their risk of illness in the future. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel acknowledged that courts in some states have sided with plaintiffs’ arguments that the need to spend money on medically monitoring their exposure…
-
Appeals court orders new trial after Denver judge wrongly let defendant represent self
—
by
A Denver judge incorrectly found that a defendant understood what he was doing by giving up his constitutional right to counsel, Colorado’s second-highest court concluded on Thursday in overturning the man’s assault convictions. Criminal defendants are allowed to represent themselves at trial by waiving their right to counsel. However, such a waiver must be “voluntary,…
-
Appeals court overturns carjacking-related convictions after evidence error
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court overturned some of a defendant’s carjacking-related convictions on Thursday, finding Arapahoe County prosecutors failed to establish that his text messages apparently confessing to the crime were admissible as evidence. The three-judge Court of Appeals panel also concluded the search warrant used to obtain information from T-Mobile was unconstitutionally broad, with some judges…
-
Netflix subscriptions may be taxed as ‘tangible’ property, appeals court rules
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that a 90-year-old law taxing the sale of “tangible personal property” applies to Netflix subscriptions. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel examined the 1935 definition of tangible personal property as “corporeal,” and asked whether that necessarily meant items have to be seen and touched in order to qualify for…
-
Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases on parole revocation, debt collection
—
by
The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced it will decide whether people must appeal their revocation of parole to the parole board itself, or if they can seek judicial review directly. At least three of the seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. The justices also will decide whether a debt collection company…
-
Appeals court orders new murder trial after Denver judge gave faulty self-defense instruction
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a man’s murder conviction and life sentence on Thursday after concluding a Denver judge gave a problematic self-defense instruction to jurors, casting doubt on the verdict. Jurors delivered a split verdict, acquitting Oscar D. Villegas-Ortega of first-degree murder after deliberation, but convicting him of another murder charge as well as manslaughter and assault.…
-
Despite 2020 change, Colorado justices rule positive drug test alone can lead to child neglect finding
—
by
A divided Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a newborn’s positive drug test by itself can lead to a finding of child neglect, even though legislators amended the law five years ago to eliminate that trigger. The legal debate centered on the wording lawmakers chose to replace the previous understanding that a child is neglected when…
-
2021 transportation bill did not violate TABOR, appeals court rules
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court rejected a legal challenge on Thursday to a major piece of a 2021 law that created new funding sources for the state’s transportation system. Americans for Prosperity, a conservative Virginia-based advocacy group with a chapter in Colorado, sought to strike down Senate Bill 260 and block various government-owned business from collecting fees until voters…
