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Colorado justices, 5-2, say police money used for drug deals not subject to crime victim restitution
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The Colorado Supreme Court, by 5-2, ruled on Monday that the state’s crime victim restitution law does not obligate defendants to repay law enforcement agencies for unrecovered money they use to buy drugs undercover. The government maintained the restitution law authorized the repayment of “buy money” because it was either “money advanced by law enforcement…
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Appeals court tosses man’s convictions after Denver judge relied on expired pandemic-era law to violate speedy trial deadline
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A Denver judge mistakenly used an expired provision of state law to extend a defendant’s speedy trial deadline, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday in overturning the man’s convictions and 34-years-to-life prison sentence. As part of the constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial, Colorado law generally requires the government to bring a defendant to trial…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear appeals about parenting restrictions, resentencings
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will decide whether a judge’s reduction in the amount of time a parent spends with their child amounts to the kind of “restriction” that requires a heightened justification. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case. The justices also will…
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Colorado Supreme Court clarifies requirements of child prostitution offense
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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…
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Divided Colorado Supreme Court: Criminal trial livestreams not enough to satisfy public trial right
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A slim majority of the Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday that livestreaming criminal proceedings without also opening the physical courtroom to spectators may violate the constitutional guarantee of a public trial. Addressing an issue that arose during the early COVID-19 pandemic, the justices considered whether it was acceptable for trial judges to restrict their…
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Colorado justices ponder whether defendants must repay money police use for drug buys
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If undercover police officers buy drugs from a suspected drug dealer, but they let him leave with the money and never recover it, is the defendant obligated to repay the amount as crime victim restitution? Members of the Colorado Supreme Court grappled with the question on Thursday, with multiple justices wondering how the state’s restitution…
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Appeals court overturns $4 million jury award for elderly woman subject to Denver SWAT search
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Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned a jury’s roughly $4 million award to an elderly Denver woman who was subject to a SWAT raid on her home after police believed, incorrectly, a stolen iPhone would be found inside. In ordering a new civil trial, a three-judge Court of Appeals panel imposed a new burden on…
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Defendant’s ‘extreme religious beliefs’ did not render her incompetent, appeals court rules
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Colorado’s second-highest court decided last week that a defendant’s “extreme religious beliefs” did not render her incompetent to proceed, nor did they invalidate her decision to represent herself at trial. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals did not believe Ika Eden had any mental health issues that interfered with her ability to understand…
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Appeals court finds Mesa County judge incorrectly analyzed evidence for second time in sex assault trial
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last month that a Mesa County judge used the incorrect standard when deciding if a defendant should receive a new trial — even after a prior Court of Appeals decision explicitly ordered the judge to fix his earlier evidence-related mistake. A three-judge appellate panel, by 2-1, believed then-District Court Judge Richard T.…
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Colorado Supreme Court considers restoring multimillion-dollar award to RTD subcontractor
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will consider whether the Court of Appeals incorrectly threw out a $5.7 million award to a company that helped build a commuter rail line and, in doing so, endangered the ability of contractors to seek money they are owed going forward. At least three of the court’s seven…
