judge matthew grove
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Arapahoe County domestic violence conviction reversed for constitutional violation
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An Arapahoe County judge improperly limited a defendant’s constitutional right to confront her victim, prompting Colorado’s second-highest court to reverse her conviction last month. Jurors found Richel Lee Gurule guilty in 2022 of assaulting her romantic partner at the time. Each woman said the other was the aggressor. Before trial, the judge permitted the defense…
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Polis, corrections director immune from man’s lawsuit over prison work program, appeals court rules
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Gov. Jared Polis and the former director of the Colorado Department of Corrections are immune from an incarcerated man’s lawsuit for money damages over the state’s prison work program, the Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday. John Patrick Fletcher, who resides at Buena Vista Correctional Facility, sought roughly $2 million from Polis and Dean Williams,…
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Polis, corrections director immune from man’s lawsuit over prison work program, appeals court rules
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Gov. Jared Polis and the former director of the Colorado Department of Corrections are immune from an incarcerated man’s lawsuit for money damages over the state’s prison work program, the Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday. John Patrick Fletcher, who resides at Buena Vista Correctional Facility, sought roughly $2 million from Polis and Dean Williams,…
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Polis, corrections director immune from man’s lawsuit over prison work program, appeals court rules
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Gov. Jared Polis and the former director of the Colorado Department of Corrections are immune from an incarcerated man’s lawsuit for money damages over the state’s prison work program, the Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday. John Patrick Fletcher, who resides at Buena Vista Correctional Facility, sought roughly $2 million from Polis and Dean Williams,…
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Appeals court says TABOR-compliant contract lets Kit Carson health district off hook for millions in damages
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Thanks to a contractual provision meant to ensure compliance with the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, a Kit Carson County special district does not have to pay roughly $8 million to a healthcare provider after terminating their multiyear agreement, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week. However, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals…
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Colorado Supreme Court ponders what to do when substituting alternate jurors mid-deliberation
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When one juror in Ricardo Castro’s criminal trial became incapacitated 11 hours into the jury’s deliberations and could not continue, there was broad agreement afterward that the trial judge did everything he could to emphasize the need for remaining jurors to begin anew — with the alternate juror replacing her stricken counterpart. The question now…
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In rare do-over, appeals court changes reasons for ordering new Denver assault trial
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In an unusual move, Colorado’s second-highest court last month withdrew its opinion ordering a new trial for a man convicted of assault, then issued a new decision with heavily modified reasoning. Originally, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals overturned Amos Rogers’ criminal convictions and 64-year sentence in October. It reasoned a Denver trial…
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Mesa County judge’s errors prompt new trial for fertility doctor who used own sperm on patients
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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,…
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Eagle County judge’s mistake prompts appeals court to overturn sex assault convictions
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An Eagle County judge neglected to declare a mistrial when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a postponement of the defendant’s trial date, pushing the proceedings outside of the speedy trial deadline and prompting Colorado’s second-highest court to overturn the convictions. The federal and state constitutions guarantee defendants the right to a speedy trial. In Colorado, that…
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Appeals court finds no discrimination in prosecutor’s removal of Asian juror from murder trial
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Even though an Adams County prosecutor misrepresented the law and the facts when she sought to remove the only Asian juror from a murder trial, Colorado’s second-highest court agreed earlier this month that no racial discrimination occurred. Under longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, intentional race-based discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional. If a prosecutor tries…
