judge timothy schutz
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Appeals court rules Fremont County must compensate victims of jail deputy’s sexual misconduct
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last week that Fremont County is responsible for paying $128,357 to two women who were victims of a jail deputy’s sexual misconduct. Samantha Hudnall and Marisa Palmas sued former Deputy Brandon Lucero for violating their rights under the Colorado Constitution. Lucero failed to respond to the allegations and a trial judge…
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Colorado Supreme Court walks back decision allowing localities to broadly permit violations of noise limits
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The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday that the state’s noise pollution law does not allow local governments to categorically permit any entity to host events on private property that exceed the statewide decibel limits. The question had divided the state’s Court of Appeals, with one appellate panel deciding localities do have broad permitting power…
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Appeals court finds no discrimination in dismissals of jurors of color across 3 cases
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Colorado’s second-highest court recently agreed prosecutors did not unconstitutionally remove jurors of color in three criminal cases for racial reasons. The Court of Appeals encountered significant variation in how the trial judges approached the prosecution’s dismissal of each juror. One judge explained the circumstances at length, one judge gave virtually no explanation and the third…
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Douglas County judge wrongly blocked man from de-registering as sex offender due to alleged ‘smirk,’ appeals court finds
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A Douglas County judge acted improperly by refusing to grant a defendant’s request to de-register as a sex offender a quarter-century after his offense because the man allegedly “smirked” at a hearing, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. David Arthur Kosak pleaded guilty in 2001 to one felony and one misdemeanor count related to sexual…
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Defendant’s ‘train wreck’ of a statement prompts appeals court to order new trial
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Colorado’s second-highest court ordered a new trial on Thursday for a defendant whose 16-minute statement mid-trial, which had no basis in criminal procedure and was described by one judge as a “train wreck,” resulted in a constitutionally unfair proceeding. Jefferson County prosecutors charged Riddick Amoako-Asiamah with large-scale marijuana cultivation or distribution based on the substantial amount…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases on campaign transparency, crime victim restitution
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will review whether the state’s requirement that ballot issue advocacy groups disclose the name of their legal representative on their election communications violates the First Amendment. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear an appeal. The justices also accepted a case implicating Colorado’s crime…
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Lakewood must release police body cam footage of teen’s fatal shooting, appeals court rules
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week that Lakewood is obligated to release body-worn camera footage of police fatally shooting a 17-year-old girl, notwithstanding her surviving family’s objections. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel interpreted a key transparency requirement in Colorado’s landmark police accountability law from 2020. Judge Timothy J. Schutz wrote that legislators crafted “a…
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Divided appeals court says COVID-19 did not cause ‘direct physical loss’ to senior care facilities
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic and related public health orders did not cause a “direct physical loss” to the property of various assisted living facilities to the point of triggering insurance coverage. By 2-1, a three-judge Court of Appeals panel relied on the reasoning of recent federal court opinions and…
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Ex-Lochbuie officer’s rights not violated with disclosure of misconduct finding, appeals court rules
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last month that a former law enforcement officer cannot sue his employer under one police accountability law for reporting its misconduct finding to another agency, as required under a different police accountability law. Officer Michael Oliveira sued leaders of the Lochbuie Police Department under Senate Bill 217, also known as the Enhance Law…
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Divided appeals court upholds judge’s decade-old violation of restitution law
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Colorado’s second-highest court turned aside a defendant’s challenge earlier this month to a judge’s decade-old order that he pay $28,518 in crime victim restitution, even though the judge failed to comply with state law in doing so. In Colorado, as part of sentencing, judges must consider whether defendants owe financial restitution to their victims. If so,…
