judge s. kato crews
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Federal judge dismisses claim of falsified testimony against El Paso County coroner employee
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A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit from a man who was tried and acquitted of his girlfriend’s 2021 murder, and who subsequently accused a witness of fabricating evidence to make him seem guilty. Joseph Hunnicutt stood trial twice in El Paso County for the killing of Alison Cantrell. At the first trial in…
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Federal judge dismisses challenge to prison policy forbidding assistance with certain legal claims
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A federal judge on Friday dismissed a formerly incarcerated man’s challenge to Colorado’s prison policy that forbids the use of library resources for the pursuit of certain claims generally deemed frivolous. Robert Wayne Robinson sued the law librarian at the Buena Vista Correctional Facility and the former director of the Colorado Department of Corrections. He…
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Federal judge declines to dismiss excessive force claim against Denver
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A federal judge last week declined to dismiss Denver from an excessive force lawsuit, finding the plaintiff had sufficiently alleged the city’s lack of training was behind an officer’s decision to slam him head-first into the ground. Elijah Smith alleged he was among the crowd of people in Lower Downtown celebrating the Denver Nuggets’ NBA…
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Federal judge dismisses bulk of claims against UCCS, employees over instructor’s alleged predatory behavior
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A federal judge on Monday dismissed several claims by a former University of Colorado Springs student pertaining to one professor’s alleged sexual misconduct towards her. Kristen Gearhart filed suit in April 2024 against the university, its chancellor, multiple employees and mathematics Prof. Mark Tomforde. She alleged Tomforde had a history of misconduct toward women at…
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Judge dismisses constitutional claim against detective despite ‘eyebrow-raising’ investigation into motel
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A federal judge on Friday dismissed a Greenwood Village motel operator’s constitutional rights claim against a detective who allegedly singled out the establishment for a criminal investigation based on its willingness to house people with disabilities long-term. Zarrin Hospitality Group, Inc. is the operator of a Motel 6 at 9201 E. Arapahoe Road. Its owner…
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Federal judge advances retaliation-related claims of Castle Rock employee
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A federal judge on Thursday largely declined to dismiss multiple retaliation-related claims from a Castle Rock employee, while cautioning that the discovery of evidence would shed light on the circumstances surrounding the town’s actions. Matthew Gasser, a senior athletics supervisor, alleged Castle Rock learned in summer 2023 that an employee may have manipulated certain receipts…
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Federal judge, for now, declines to block Colorado’s gas stove disclosure law
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A federal judge on Monday declined to block a 2025 Colorado law requiring health disclosures on new gas-fueled stoves, instead suggesting the state work with the challengers to voluntarily halt enforcement in the near-term. In June, Gov. Jared Polis signed House Bill 1161 into law, which requires retailers of gas stoves to affix a “yellow…
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Federal judge rejects challenge to Colorado ‘buffer zone’ law for abortion clinics
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A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a Denver woman’s challenge to Colorado’s 32-year-old law restricting proselytizing at abortion clinics, with the ultimate goal of the litigation being to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule its precedent on the subject. In 1993, Colorado legislators enacted a law generally prohibiting people from approaching others, within eight feet,…
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Colorado’s federal trial judges keep backlogs steady, but data show discrepancies
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Colorado’s federal trial judges collectively had 71 motions in civil cases that had been sitting on their dockets for at least six months without a ruling as of March 31, according to recently released data from the judiciary. However, the reported information contains discrepancies, and at least one judge’s list understates his number of pending…
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Colorado federal judges unveil new ‘civility code,’ share stories about bad behavior
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Four members of Colorado’s U.S. District Court introduced lawyers on Tuesday to a new, nonbinding “civility code” and expressed frustration about overly belligerent behavior they are seeing more frequently from attorneys. “It feeds on itself. One lawyer in a case starts with snarky comments in the briefs or the motions, the other side may try…
