judge robin chittum
-
Defendants acquitted by insanity are eligible for records-sealing, appeals court says
Colorado’s second-highest court clarified last month that defendants who are found not guilty by reason of insanity are eligible to have their criminal records sealed from public view. Judges must seal criminal records if, among other things, a defendant is “acquitted of all counts” in a case. The question for the Court of Appeals was…
-
Judge’s error allowing juvenile defendant to be prosecuted as adult cannot be reversed, appeals court says
Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last month that a judge’s error in allowing a juvenile defendant to be prosecuted as an adult cannot be corrected on appeal because the defendant later pleaded guilty. The case arose under unusual circumstances, after police connected James Edward Papol in 2018 to the 30-year-old unsolved murder of Mary Lynne Vialpando…
-
Colorado justices disagree father was entitled to new jury trial after faulty first proceeding
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday concluded a father was not automatically entitled to a child neglect jury trial after his first proceeding in El Paso County was overturned, and instead faulted the man for failing to reiterate his demand for a jury trial. For parents involved in child welfare cases, Colorado lawmakers have given them…
-
Colorado justices consider when parents forfeit right to jury trial in child neglect cases
For parents involved in child neglect cases, Colorado lawmakers have given them the right to ask for a jury trial on the question of whether their children are neglected — a right they give up if they fail to appear at trial. On Tuesday, members of the Colorado Supreme Court heard arguments in three cases in…
-
El Paso County judge wrongly revoked father’s jury trial in child neglect case, appeals court finds
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that an El Paso County judge wrongly revoked a father’s choice of a jury trial in his child neglect case because the man had failed to appear two years earlier for a separate proceeding. Under Colorado law, parents have the right of a jury trial to determine whether a…
-
Colorado Supreme Court rules poor defendants have no right to keep assigned lawyer
There is no constitutional right for indigent criminal defendants to go to trial with their preferred public defender, even though defendants who are wealthy enough to hire an attorney do enjoy that ability, a majority of the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. In a pair of 6-1 decisions, the Supreme Court determined that poor…