judge stephanie dunn
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Colorado Supreme Court wary of requiring child welfare workers to give Miranda warnings prior to interrogations
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court seemed hesitant on Wednesday to endorse the idea that child welfare workers must provide a Miranda warning before interrogating a parent in custody, even if the conversation will later be used in a criminal prosecution. The state’s Court of Appeals previously upheld the murder convictions of two men, both…
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Colorado Supreme Court to examine whether portion of anti-SLAPP law is unconstitutional
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will address whether lawmakers inadvertently violated the state constitution by creating a unique pathway for appeals under a law designed to shield First Amendment conduct from lawsuits. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. The justices also accepted…
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Douglas County sex offense convictions overturned because judge let biased juror serve
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Colorado’s second-highest court last week reversed a man’s sexual assault convictions because a Douglas County judge allowed a biased juror to serve. Jurors convicted Dennis Floyd Ladd of multiple sex offenses in 2022 and he received an indefinite sentence of at least 25 years. During jury selection, his lawyer asked the jury pool if they would…
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Felony child abuse convictions overturned in high-profile case due to instruction error
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Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a woman’s felony convictions for child abuse resulting in death last month after concluding the instructions that a San Miguel County judge provided the jury did not include the necessary language. Hannah Marshall, 8, and Makayla Roberts, 10, were discovered dead and decomposing in a vehicle located on Frederick “Alec” Blair’s Norwood…
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Appeals court rejects state’s argument that severely disabled sex offenders cannot de-register
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Colorado’s second-highest court last week clarified for the first time that a 2018 change to state law now permits severely disabled sex offenders who are otherwise required to register for life to discontinue their registrations. Defendants convicted of certain serious sex crimes are generally required to register for the rest of their lives. However, the legislature in 2018 enacted…
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Appeals court agrees RTD not responsible for $111.5 million in costs from faulty rail line rollout
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Colorado’s second-highest court agreed on Thursday that the contractor responsible for building and operating the recent expansion of the Regional Transportation District’s rail network cannot recover more than $100 million from RTD for the extended period in which grade crossing systems malfunctioned. Denver Transit Partners and RTD engaged in a public-private partnership to construct a…
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No constitutional right to plead guilty, appeals court says in upholding El Paso County convictions
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An El Paso County judge was not constitutionally obligated to accept a defendant’s guilty plea, Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last week. Appealing his convictions, Timothy Ray Scott Jr. argued his trial judge violated his constitutional right to “autonomy” by not letting him plead guilty. The U.S. Supreme Court has previously interpreted the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of…
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Pitkin County judge wrongly held mother in contempt, appeals court finds
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A Pitkin County judge issued a faulty contempt order that revoked a mother’s parenting time for three summers without addressing the required factors, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled earlier this month. After Vanessa Kirianoff-Brown did not transfer custody of her child to her ex-husband over two holiday weekends, he moved to hold her in contempt of…
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Appeals court finds no racial discrimination by El Paso County prosecutor
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last month that an El Paso County prosecutor did not engage in racial discrimination by dismissing two jurors of color from a criminal trial, based on their concerns over aggressive policing. Under longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, intentional race-based discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional. If a prosecutor tries to remove…
