judge stephanie dunn
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Appeals court rejects state’s argument that severely disabled sex offenders cannot de-register
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
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
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
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
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…
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Boulder County judge wasn’t obligated to bail out self-represented defendant, appeals court rules
Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last month that a criminal defendant in Boulder County was not unfairly forced to choose between his rights to a speedy trial and to an attorney, and, when he elected to go without an attorney, the trial judge was not obligated to save him from his own poor performance. Jurors convicted Timothy…
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Colorado Supreme Court to review safeguards against interrogations by child welfare workers
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will review two murder cases implicating a question the court has never answered: When a child welfare worker questions a suspect in custody, must they provide a Miranda warning first? At least three of the court’s seven members need to consent to hear a case on…
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Fremont County murder conviction reversed due to faulty jury instruction
A man convicted of murdering his housemate when he shot a gun through his basement ceiling will receive a new trial, as Colorado’s second-highest court determined a Fremont County judge gave jurors an instruction that violated the defendant’s constitutional rights. Thomas Randall Addington is serving a 38-year prison sentence after jurors convicted him of murdering…
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Appeals court overturns Jeffco organized crime convictions, upholds pole camera surveillance
Colorado’s second-highest court earlier this month overturned a string of organized crime and money laundering convictions out of Jefferson County due to prosecutors’ failure to present sufficient evidence proving the offenses. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals applied recent Colorado Supreme Court precedent to conclude a criminal “enterprise” must have its own structure…
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Colorado appeals court sides against Northglenn mosque protester in defamation lawsuit
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday agreed a man who filed suit over media coverage of his protest activity failed to show how his defamation claims had merit. In April 2021, the Northglenn/Thornton Sentinel reported on Richard Roy Blake’s protests outside Masjid Ikhlas – Metropolitan Denver North Islamic Center. For years, Blake had shown up to “open houses”…