judge rebecca freyre
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Colorado court upholds murder conviction despite jury disobeying instructions
Colorado’s second-highest court upheld an Arapahoe County defendant’s murder conviction last month, even though jurors found he was not the one who shot the victim and the evidence suggested he was not present for the shooting. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel previously determined that jurors in Jacob Alexander Shockey’s trial disobeyed their instructions and…
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Appeals court clarifies offense of impersonating a peace officer
Colorado’s second-highest court clarified this month that a person commits the offense of impersonating a peace officer if they engage in “any conduct” while pretending to be law enforcement. In a case out of El Paso County, Richard James Coulier II and a neighbor negotiated the sale of an inoperable vehicle in the neighbor’s front…
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Man who asked mom to lie to parole officer can stand convicted, Colorado Supreme Court decides
Attempting to influence a public servant is a crime that can include a defendant’s use of a third party to convey false information, the Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday. There was no dispute that Michael Thomas Hupke asked his mother to lie to his parole officer on his behalf. Further, Hupke acknowledged Mesa County…
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Colorado justices block injured plaintiff from suing, despite alleged concealment by Manitou Springs
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a woman injured on a Manitou Springs sidewalk could not sue the allegedly responsible entity, the city of Colorado Springs, even though she did not learn until too late of an agreement that made the city liable for the defective infrastructure. Jaimi J. Mostellar argued that Manitou…
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Error-prone Douglas County judge triggers another reversal of criminal convictions
Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a defendant’s Douglas County convictions on Thursday due to the error of a judge whose actions have triggered a disproportionate number of reversals to convictions and sentences in recent years. Since 2021, the Court of Appeals has found problems in multiple criminal cases handled by former District Court Judge Patricia Herron.…
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Colorado justices uphold shooting conviction despite jury saying defendant not the shooter
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a man can stand convicted of murder, even though jurors found he was not the one who shot the victim and the evidence suggested he was not present for the shooting. There was no dispute that Terrence G. Davis died by gunshot in an Aurora alleyway in 2017.…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases about reliability of gun-to-bullet matching
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will hear two cases questioning the reliability of expert testimony that purports to identify whether a specific bullet was fired from a specific gun. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take up a case on appeal. There is currently one vacancy,…
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Appeals court decides violations of child custody orders may be prosecuted per child
Colorado’s second-highest court concluded for the first time on Wednesday that a defendant may be charged with violating a child custody order based on the number of children affected, not the number of orders violated. Mesa County jurors convicted Tiffany Jean Wilson on four counts of violating a custody order. She drove off with her…
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Justices debate what to do when governments withhold key info from plaintiffs
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court seemed to be on different pages when they considered on Tuesday whether a woman injured by a sidewalk defect in Manitou Springs was forever barred from suing the actual entity responsible because she did not learn until it was too late that Colorado Springs was the proper defendant. The…
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Appeals court, for third time, confirms new trial necessary for Alamosa County judge’s public trial violation
Colorado’s second-highest court confirmed for the third time last week that an Alamosa County judge violated a defendant’s constitutional right to a public trial, which requires the reversal of his convictions. The unusual number of opinions in Gilberto Andres Montoya’s appeal, and the shifting rationale for why a new trial is necessary, stems in part…