judge steve bernard

Colorado Supreme Court clarifies requirements of child prostitution offense

Jun 26, 2025

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Michael Karlik

The Colorado Supreme Court waded into a split that developed in the state’s second-highest court, clarifying on Monday that prosecutors do not need to prove a defendant intended specifically for a child to be prostituted in order to secure a conviction. Under Colorado law, soliciting for child prostitution is an offense that requires someone to…
Denver judge made custody decision without notice to father, appeals court finds

Jun 9, 2025

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Michael Karlik

Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a Denver judge’s custody order on Thursday after finding the children’s father received no notice the judge actually intended to take testimony and make a decision at an advertised “status conference.” The grandmother of two children filed a custody petition in November 2023 after the death of her daughter — the children’s…
Colorado justices to hear cases on ‘borrowed’ allegations, policyholders’ failure to cooperate

Mar 14, 2025

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Michael Karlik

The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will hear an appeal asking whether lawyers can incorporate allegations from other lawsuits into their own complaints without personally speaking with witnesses in the prior cases first. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. The justices will…
Colorado justices point to quirk in identity theft law, agree man’s conviction cannot stand

Jan 21, 2025

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Michael Karlik

The Colorado Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday that a man could not stand convicted of identity theft for using the “personal identifying information” of a nonprofit entity, rather than a human being. The state’s identity theft law applies to people who, without authorization, use the financial identifying information or personal identifying information “of another” to obtain something…
Colorado Supreme Court weighs meaning of ‘personal identifying information’

Oct 25, 2024

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Michael Karlik

Members of the Colorado Supreme Court pondered on Thursday whether “personal identifying information” under the state’s identity theft law only encompasses humans, or if businesses can have personal identifying information, too. The government argued legislators enacted the identity theft law in 2006 to deter fraudulent conduct, and the meaning of personal identifying information should be…
Colorado Supreme Court finds Aurora police committed no Miranda violation when interrogating suspect

Sep 10, 2024

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Michael Karlik

Aurora police did not need to provide a Miranda warning to a road rage suspect before interrogating him outside his apartment building in an accusatory manner, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. Under the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Miranda v. Arizona, law enforcement must inform suspects of their constitutional rights to remain silent…
Appeals court clarifies attorneys may ‘borrow’ allegations from other litigation when filing suit

Aug 23, 2024

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Michael Karlik

Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday made it easier for plaintiffs to bolster their civil claims, concluding attorneys are not forbidden from using allegations in other litigation in their own complaints. Under Colorado’s rules for civil cases, attorneys must attest that the complaints they file are well-grounded in fact to the best of their “knowledge, information, and…
Divided appeals court takes no issue with lack of child welfare services to incarcerated father

Aug 19, 2024

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Michael Karlik

Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that even if a child welfare caseworker could have rehabilitated a father by facilitating visitation time and drug treatment while he was incarcerated, the lack of services was excusable because the man likely would not have taken advantage of them anyway. By 2-1, a three-judge panel of the Court…
Colorado justices skeptical Aurora officer committed Miranda violation on road rage suspect

Jun 26, 2024

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Michael Karlik

Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared skeptical last week that a road rage suspect was “in custody” at the time an Aurora police officer interrogated him, as the state’s second-highest court believed was the case. Under the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Miranda v. Arizona, police must inform a suspect of their rights to…
Appeals court reinstates Denver sex assault convictions in 12-year-old case

Feb 29, 2024

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Michael Karlik

Following a rare appeal by the prosecution, Colorado’s second-highest court last month reinstated a defendant’s sexual assault convictions, reversing a judge’s order for a new trial based on the alleged ineffectiveness of defense counsel. Stephen J. Ahuero’s criminal case, which began in 2012, previously reached both the Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court.…