judge stephanie dunn
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Douglas County judge subjected man to lifetime sex offender registration without saying why, appeals court finds
A Douglas County judge did not provide a clear reason why she designated a man a “sexually violent predator” and subjected him to lifetime sex offender registration, the Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday. Under Colorado law, a person convicted of a sex offense is labeled a sexually violent predator when, among other things, the…
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Divided appeals court upholds defendant’s longer sentence for not saying ‘sorry’
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday upheld an Adams County judge’s decision to give a defendant five more years in prison solely because he did not tell the judge he was sorry. By 2-1, a three judge panel for the Court of Appeals agreed that under certain circumstances, a defendant’s silence at sentencing cannot be used…
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Appeals court judge suggests Supreme Court revisit ruling about defendants’ seized property
One judge on the state’s second-highest court has suggested the Colorado Supreme Court clarify its own recent decision governing how convicted defendants may recover personal items seized by police, calling the ruling logically inconsistent. In December, the Supreme Court decided Woo v. El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, involving a convicted defendant who claimed law enforcement had failed…
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Colorado Supreme Court, 4-3, orders new trial after judge blocked defense from questioning alternate suspect
In the face of strong evidence suggesting a woman sentenced to four years in prison for burglary did not actually commit the crime, the Colorado Supreme Court on Monday agreed a Weld County judge improperly barred the defense from questioning an alternate suspect during trial. The 4-3 decision held that the inability of Nora Hilda Rios-Vargas…
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Colorado appeals court sides with customer sued over negative online review
A series of statements a Colorado Springs woman made online and through the media about a plumbing company are protected under the law and do not amount to defamation, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last month. The decision from the Court of Appeals is the latest to address the tension between customers who leave critical online…
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Colorado appeals court agrees woman fired for vaccine non-compliance not entitled to unemployment benefits
A woman who was fired because she refused to comply with her employer’s COVID-19 vaccination policy, while seeking neither a religious nor a medical exemption, is not entitled to unemployment benefits, Colorado’s second-highest court decided last month. Kristen Bara worked as the office manager at the Mental Health Center of Boulder County. After her termination,…