justice alex martinez
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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 justices uphold $10.5 million award in downstairs meth lab case
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday upheld a judge’s $10.5 million award to a woman and her daughter for their injuries stemming from toxic exposure from a suspected downstairs meth lab in their Littleton apartment building. The court originally took up the appeal to decide when a person or entity is required to preserve evidence…
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‘Our job is not necessarily to agree’: Appeals judges speak about compromises in decision-making
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Members of Colorado’s Supreme Court and Court of Appeals spoke to law students on Friday about when and how they compromise in their decision-making — and when they feel compelled to register disagreement. “We have different considerations than the Supreme Court,” said Judge Sueanna P. Johnson of the 22-member appeals court. “They are doing less than…
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Colorado Supreme Court takes up 2 cases implicating open meetings law
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced this month it will hear two appeals affecting the ability of individuals and organizations to hold government bodies accountable for decisions made in violation of the state’s open meetings law, including a review of the judicially created notion that public entities can fix their violation at a subsequent meeting. At least…
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Colorado justices say conflicted lawyer not OK, but automatic reversal not required for defendant
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court agreed on Monday it was highly problematic that an El Paso County defense lawyer seemingly failed to tell his client he was simultaneously being prosecuted by the same district attorney’s office, but a majority stopped short of finding the conflict merited an automatic reversal of the defendant’s convictions. Matthew…
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‘Pretty shocking’: Colorado justices review case where defendant’s lawyer was also being prosecuted
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared hesitant last week to endorse automatic reversal of an El Paso County defendant’s convictions because he was seemingly unaware his lawyer was simultaneously being prosecuted by the same district attorney’s office. However, some justices agreed the system failed to adequately protect the rights of Matthew Rodolfo Vansant Lopez from…
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Downstairs meth lab case has Colorado justices evaluating duty to preserve evidence
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When an Arapahoe County judge awarded a woman and her daughter $10.5 million for their injuries, finding their landlord had not reasonably responded to allegations of toxic exposure from a downstairs meth lab, he also concluded the landlord willfully failed to preserve evidence. Last week, before the Colorado Supreme Court, the now-bankrupt Terra Management Group sought a…
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Arapahoe County murder conviction overturned due to prosecutor misconduct
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A teenager convicted of murder will receive a new trial after Colorado’s second-highest court determined on Thursday that Arapahoe County prosecutors inappropriately used the defendant’s constitutional right to silence as evidence of his guilt. Jurors convicted Marquez Woodruff in 2019 of fatally shooting Terry Capler in the latter’s Aurora home. Woodruff, who was 16 at the time…
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Appeals court upholds convictions despite trial judge’s ‘inappropriate expressions of annoyance’
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Colorado’s second-highest court upheld a man’s Arapahoe County convictions last month, despite voicing concerns about the trial judge’s confrontational behavior toward defense counsel. Brandon John Conlon stood trial in 2020 for three charges related to filing a false sexual harassment report against security officers. A jury found him guilty. During the trial, then-District Court Judge…
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Denver judge wrongly revoked jury trial in child neglect case, says appeals court
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A Denver judge acted improperly by canceling a jury trial that two parents had requested in their child neglect case, the state’s second-highest court ruled last month. Although three-judge panels of the Court of Appeals are not bound by each other’s decisions, an appellate panel on Oct. 19 agreed with their counterparts who concluded earlier…
