jury
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Colorado courts call off jury trials as COVID-19 infections surge
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At least half a dozen of the state’s 22 judicial districts have temporarily halted jury trials, owing to the highly contagious omicron variant and the resulting explosion of COVID-19 infections in Colorado. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s latest data reported roughly 5,700 new cases of COVID-19, with over 10,000 deaths since the…
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COVER STORY | A Rittenhouse acquittal in Colorado? Longstanding self-defense laws would allow it
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A young man being pursued down the street attempted to evade his attacker, asking to be left alone until the last possible minute, when he killed the aggressor. The killer could be Kyle Rittenhouse, the then-17-year-old who shot two men and wounded a third in the streets of Kenosha, Wisc. following days of racial justice…
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Appeals court finds Arapahoe prosecutor misstated law, reverses murder convictions
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An Arapahoe County prospector misstated the law to a jury, prompting the Court of Appeals to label her actions misconduct and order a new trial for the defendant. Kenneth Michael Kaminga stood trial in 2018 for the killings of Aaron Williams and Javier Gaytan in Aurora. Kaminga told his girlfriend, “I murdered two people tonight,” and…
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Nicolais: Death sentence gone awry
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Every law school student loves to argue. Most see reflections of Gregory Peck or Spencer Tracy in their mirrors. And, in my law school experience, nothing brought about an argument as fast and as fierce as the death penalty. Stakes cannot be greater or an outcome more final. I even remember former Illinois Gov. George…
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? Nicolais: Supreme Court reviews pulling back the jury curtain for racial bias
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The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees “an impartial jury” to all defendants. But what seems to be a clear and concise rule becomes much less so in practice. Most dramatically, whatever is said among deliberating jurors cannot be used to prove bias. No matter how far from impartial such statements may remove a…
