jury instruction
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Assault, murder convictions reversed in 2 cases for judges’ errors
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday reversed two sets of criminal convictions because trial judges gave improper instructions to jurors or incorrectly allowed damaging evidence to be heard. In the first case out of Jefferson County, jurors convicted Clinton Eugene Priest of murdering and assaulting Robert Miller after the two men got into a physical confrontation outside…
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Felony child abuse convictions overturned in high-profile case due to instruction error
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Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a woman’s felony convictions for child abuse resulting in death last month after concluding the instructions that a San Miguel County judge provided the jury did not include the necessary language. Hannah Marshall, 8, and Makayla Roberts, 10, were discovered dead and decomposing in a vehicle located on Frederick “Alec” Blair’s Norwood…
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Colorado appeals court overturns conviction for Larimer County judge’s faulty instruction
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In a rare move, both the prosecution and defense agreed the state’s Court of Appeals should overturn a man’s assault conviction because a Larimer County judge incorrectly instructed jurors about self-defense. Consequently, a three-judge appellate panel on Thursday ordered a new trial for Anthony John Trimarco, who is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence. In criminal…
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Appeals court reverses Mesa County murder conviction after faulty jury instruction
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Colorado’s second-highest court has found a Mesa County judge provided a jury instruction that was unsupported by the evidence, requiring reversal of the defendant’s 2019 murder conviction. Although the defense attorney for Joseph William Peace did not object to the faulty self-defense instruction at the time, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals deemed…
