judge matthew grove
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COVID-19 an ‘occupational disease’ triggering workers’ comp benefits, appeals court rules
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled for the first time on Thursday that COVID-19 is an “occupational disease” that entitled the widow of a deceased nursing home employee to workers’ compensation benefits. Vincent Gaines was a floor technician at the University Park Care Center in Pueblo County, operated by Life Care Centers of America. Although there was no evidence…
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Arapahoe County domestic violence conviction reversed for constitutional violation
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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Arapahoe County domestic violence conviction reversed for constitutional violation
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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Arapahoe County domestic violence conviction reversed for constitutional violation
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
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
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
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
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
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
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…

