judge patricia herron
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Colorado justices nudge legislature to take action to combat racial bias in jury selection
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In a major pair of decisions on Monday, the Colorado Supreme Court simultaneously found Arapahoe County prosecutors provided non-racial reasons for removing jurors of color from two criminal trials, but that judges failed to adequately determine whether those reasons were credible. Further, three of the seven justices, with seeming support from the other four, suggested…
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Ex-Douglas County judge’s errors stack up as appeals court reverses another conviction
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Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned a Douglas County defendant’s convictions because of an error by former District Court Judge Patricia Herron, continuing a pattern of reversals in her cases. Herron retired late last year, having been an 18th Judicial District Court judge since 2016. Earlier in her career, she worked in the Colorado Attorney…
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Colorado Supreme Court upholds Arapahoe County murder, drug convictions
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Even if an Arapahoe County judge was wrong to combine a defendant’s drug and murder charges in one trial, the move did not likely affect the jury’s verdict, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. Joseph Wayne Washington argued there should have been separate trials for his murder charge and for the other counts largely…
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Appeals court overturns restitution order due to Douglas County judge’s extreme delay
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday overturned a Douglas County judge’s order for $12,500 in crime victim restitution, which she issued nearly two years after the defendant’s sentencing and several months after the state Supreme Court told trial judges to pay attention to the 91-day deadline in the law. Before the Court of Appeals, both the…
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Appeals court overturns restitution order due to Douglas County judge’s extreme delay
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday overturned a Douglas County judge’s order for $12,500 in crime victim restitution, which she issued nearly two years after the defendant’s sentencing and several months after the state Supreme Court told trial judges to pay attention to the 91-day deadline in the law. Before the Court of Appeals, both the…
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Appeals court reverses stalking conviction after Douglas County judge violated right to counsel
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A Douglas County judge violated the rules of criminal procedure and the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel when she allowed a defense attorney to withdraw, did not seek input from the defendant and did not evaluate the necessity of the withdrawal, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. Shari Leigh Dooley ended up representing herself at trial,…
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Appeals court reverses stalking conviction after Douglas County judge violated right to counsel
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A Douglas County judge violated the rules of criminal procedure and the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel when she allowed a defense attorney to withdraw, did not seek input from the defendant and did not evaluate the necessity of the withdrawal, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. Shari Leigh Dooley ended up representing herself at trial,…
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Douglas County judge let prosecutors present misleading evidence of sex assault, appeals court rules
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A Douglas County judge allowed prosecutors to mislead the jury into thinking they should still convict a man of sexual assault despite the absence of his DNA, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday in overturning the convictions of Clayton Angus Hood. Jurors found Hood guilty of raping a teenage girl who lived in his household.…
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Douglas County judge let prosecutors present misleading evidence of sex assault, appeals court rules
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A Douglas County judge allowed prosecutors to mislead the jury into thinking they should still convict a man of sexual assault despite the absence of his DNA, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday in overturning the convictions of Clayton Angus Hood. Jurors found Hood guilty of raping a teenage girl who lived in his household.…
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Colorado justices conflicted about using views on police bias to remove jurors of color
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For two hours on Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court grappled with a question that could significantly affect the composition of juries going forward: If a juror of color, based on her experiences, says that bias in policing exists, would removing that person from the jury pool be tantamount to dismissing her because of her race?…
