judge stephanie dunn
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Colorado Supreme Court upholds child abuse convictions despite faulty jury instruction
The Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday that a San Miguel County jury properly convicted a defendant of child abuse resulting in death, even though the instructions potentially allowed jurors to avoid finding that the child abuse resulted in death. The court agreed unanimously that the jury instructions for finding Madani Ceus guilty of a…
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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…
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Judge tearing up during victim’s testimony does not warrant new trial, appeals court says
Colorado’s second-highest court concluded on Thursday that an Arapahoe County judge’s visible display of emotion during a child victim’s testimony should not trigger a new trial for the defendant. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel found that defendant Philip Morgan had failed to show how the reaction by District Court Judge Ryan Stuart during trial…
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The influencers? Some Colorado appeals judges outpace colleagues in setting legal precedent
A handful of judges on Colorado’s second-highest court are producing substantially more precedent-setting opinions than their colleagues, which create binding interpretations of the law that reach beyond individual cases. The Court of Appeals issues approximately 1,700 opinions each year. A small number receives state Supreme Court review, but the appellate court is otherwise the final…
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Colorado justices weigh potentially faulty jury instruction in child abuse case
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court questioned on Tuesday whether a San Miguel County jury convicted a defendant of child abuse resulting in death, even though the instructions potentially allowed jurors to avoid finding that the child abuse resulted in death. Previously, the state’s Court of Appeals reversed the convictions and 64-year prison sentence of…
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Appeals court finds Jeffco judge imposed lifetime sex offender registration on man without explaining why
Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a Jefferson County judge’s order on Thursday that subjected a defendant to lifetime sex offender registration, after she did not make findings about each of the required factors. David Lamont White pleaded guilty to one count of attempted sexual assault. At his 2023 plea hearing, the defense and prosecution agreed District…
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Appeals court ‘reluctantly’ sides with Jeffco DA in disapproving judge’s self-defense ruling
Colorado’s second-highest court, by 2-1, agreed last week that a Jefferson County judge should not have let jurors consider whether a defendant acted in self-defense at a trial that resulted in his acquittal for menacing a police officer. However, members of the three-judge Court of Appeals panel criticized District Attorney Alexis King’s office for bringing…
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Appeals court finds no discrimination in dismissals of jurors of color across 3 cases
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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Denver judge failed to let defendant speak, appeals court finds in overturning 48-year sentence
A Denver judge did not satisfy her obligation to ensure a defendant knew he could speak on his own behalf at sentencing, Colorado’s second-highest court determined in ordering a new sentencing hearing on Thursday. Jurors convicted Joe Pinheiro of second-degree murder in 2022 for fatally shooting Philip Malinowski five years earlier. The parties disputed whether Pinheiro’s…
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Appeals court orders new sex assault trial due to biased juror
Colorado’s second-highest court ordered a new sex assault trial for a defendant on Thursday after concluding a Weld County judge permitted a biased juror to serve. Prosecutors charged Jeremy Black with multiple counts of sexual assault on a child, alleging he abused a girl beginning when she was approximately seven years old. She disclosed the…