judge rebecca freyre
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Colorado justices weigh ‘cascade of errors’ in Arapahoe County murder trial
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There was no dispute that Terrence G. Davis died by gunshot in an Aurora alleyway in 2017. At the trial of Davis’ suspected killer, jurors reached two conclusions. First, they believed he was guilty of second-degree murder for causing Davis’ death. Second, they were asked whether the defendant used a gun. No, said the jury, he…
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Appeals court finds no discrimination in dismissals of jurors of color across 3 cases
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Colorado’s second-highest court recently agreed prosecutors did not unconstitutionally remove jurors of color in three criminal cases for racial reasons. The Court of Appeals encountered significant variation in how the trial judges approached the prosecution’s dismissal of each juror. One judge explained the circumstances at length, one judge gave virtually no explanation and the third…
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Boulder County residents cannot sue over firearm discharge on federal land, appeals court rules
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that two residents of Boulder County could not sue the county’s commissioners for walking back a policy originally banning firearms discharge on nearby land owned by the U.S. government. Boulder County leaders enacted a resolution in 2022 expanding the area near Sugarloaf Mountain in which it was unlawful to…
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Divided Colorado Supreme Court: Criminal trial livestreams not enough to satisfy public trial right
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A slim majority of the Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday that livestreaming criminal proceedings without also opening the physical courtroom to spectators may violate the constitutional guarantee of a public trial. Addressing an issue that arose during the early COVID-19 pandemic, the justices considered whether it was acceptable for trial judges to restrict their…
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Colorado justices to examine what happens when governments withhold key info from injured plaintiffs
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will decide whether injured plaintiffs do not have to strictly comply with the legal deadline for notifying the government if a public entity’s conduct makes it impossible to timely identify who should be sued. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case…
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Chief justice, top appeals judges address Colorado legal community | APPELLATE UPDATE
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Members of Colorado’s state and federal appellate courts addressed the legal community on Friday with the latest details about caseloads, internal changes and upcoming initiatives. Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez, who has occupied the state’s top judicial role for almost one year, described an “interesting trend” of the Colorado Supreme Court receiving slightly fewer petitions to…
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Appeals judge warns police against overly broad cell phone search warrants
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A member of the state’s second-highest court warned last month that law enforcement personnel should be on notice by now that they cannot obtain warrants seeking broad amounts of data from a suspect’s cell phone records unrelated to the crime. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals upheld the convictions and 102-year prison sentence…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases on leaving the scene of accidents, insurance
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will consider whether prosecutors must prove defendants knew they were involved in an accident resulting in death or serious injury in order to be convicted for leaving the scene. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. The…
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Appeals court clarifies gig workers who injure each other can sue for more than $15,000
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Colorado’s second-highest court last week ruled for the first time that an independent contractor who injures another independent contractor is not subject to the $15,000 limitation on damages that normally exists for employees who work together. James Curry and Charles Brewer were both independent contractors working for Ideal Transport, LLC, which supplied labor to a…
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Colorado justices weigh constitutional implications of livestreaming criminal trials
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With the Sixth Amendment guaranteeing criminal defendants the right to a public trial, members of the Colorado Supreme Court grappled on Tuesday with a question that may have never arisen without a global pandemic: If a judge requires spectators to watch the trial remotely, is there a constitutional violation? In a pair of cases stemming…
