judge thomas mulvahill
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Appeals court rejects allegations of racial discrimination in jury selection in 2 cases
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last month that prosecutors in two cases did not engage in intentional racial discrimination when they dismissed two women of color from the jury pool. Under longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, purposeful race-based discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional. Normally, parties may exercise “peremptory strikes” of jurors without citing a reason.…
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Appeals court says trial judges may retroactively justify excluding public from courtrooms
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In a move that potentially tees up the question for the state Supreme Court to resolve, Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday ruled that judges who exclude members of the public from trial on questionable grounds may have the opportunity to justify their actions on appeal. The Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the right to a…
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Boulder County judge, prosecutor blew past deadline, appeals court finds in voiding restitution
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday erased the $3,157 a man convicted of burglary owed to his victims because a Boulder County judge and prosecutor disregarded the deadline in state law for ordering restitution. The same day, the Court of Appeals also overturned another defendant’s obligation to pay $17,360 in restitution, again because a trial judge did…
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Appeals court allows ex-Boulder council candidate’s defamation lawsuit to proceed against activist
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Colorado’s second-highest court more precisely defined the contours of defamatory online speech last week, allowing a former Boulder City Council candidate’s lawsuit to proceed against a political activist who created an impersonation Twitter account that linked to unflattering material about the candidate. At the same time, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals declined…
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Appeals court judge suggests Supreme Court revisit ruling about defendants’ seized property
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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…
