justice brian boatright
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Colorado justices toy with test for reviewing extreme sentences for unconstitutionality
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The Colorado Supreme Court heard arguments on Monday about whether a woman’s 29-year prison sentence for causing a fatal drunk driving accident was constitutionally excessive, but also considered tinkering with the procedure for how judges approach claims of “gross disproportionality” in sentencing. The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment means sentences cannot be…
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Colorado justices side with medical malpractice victim in calculating damages owed
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday rejected a doctor’s argument that would have limited the amount of money a patient severely injured at birth would receive for his successful medical malpractice lawsuit two decades later. Under state law, damages in medical malpractice cases are generally capped at $1 million as part of a 1988 reform…
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Colorado justices, 5-2, say police money used for drug deals not subject to crime victim restitution
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The Colorado Supreme Court, by 5-2, ruled on Monday that the state’s crime victim restitution law does not obligate defendants to repay law enforcement agencies for unrecovered money they use to buy drugs undercover. The government maintained the restitution law authorized the repayment of “buy money” because it was either “money advanced by law enforcement…
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Colorado Supreme Court term in review: Restitution, racial bias, rescinded opinion and more
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The Colorado Supreme Court’s most visible decision of its recently concluded term may actually be the one it made five years ago. In 2020, with the retirement of then-Chief Justice Nathan B. Coats, the court’s other members decided to switch to a rotational method of filling the seat, with the judicial branch’s top job term-limited…
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Divided Colorado Supreme Court: Grandparents no longer ‘grandparents’ after grandchildren’s adoption
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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a child’s grandparents are no longer legally “grandparents” who are able to seek visitation once their grandchild’s adoption has been finalized to a new set of parents. By 4-3, the court concluded the law enabling grandparent visitations applies to a person who “is the parent” of a…
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Divided Colorado Supreme Court upholds police’s pat-down of man in ‘wrong place at the wrong time’
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The Colorado Supreme Court decided on Tuesday that police had not unlawfully seized a man when they patted him down in a chance encounter after he suddenly appeared outside the motel room where they were preparing to make an arrest. By 5-2, the justices believed Oscar Jonas Ganaway consented to the pat-down search, which resulted in…
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‘Dabs made me do it?’ Colorado justices ponder when defendants can rely on laced drugs as defense
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court struggled last week to determine where to draw the line between allowing defendants to argue they unwittingly consumed a substance that caused them to engage in criminal behavior, while also preventing a wave of unsubstantiated claims about laced drugs. Under state law, “involuntary intoxication” is an affirmative defense, meaning…
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Colorado justices ponder whether defendants must repay money police use for drug buys
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If undercover police officers buy drugs from a suspected drug dealer, but they let him leave with the money and never recover it, is the defendant obligated to repay the amount as crime victim restitution? Members of the Colorado Supreme Court grappled with the question on Thursday, with multiple justices wondering how the state’s restitution…
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Colorado justices talk about their jobs, obligation to be non-political in El Paso County school visit
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The Colorado Supreme Court traveled to El Paso County on Thursday, where members fielded questions from high school students on topics that included how they got their seats, what they do to relax, and the best and worst parts of the job. “I honestly think the worst part of our job is we deal with…
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Colorado justices, 5-2, rule jury may consider victim’s suicidality in fentanyl distribution case
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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a 2022 state law allows jurors to hear about a victim’s suicidal intentions when determining if a defendant is guilty of selling fentanyl and causing the victim’s death. The justices interpreted for the first time a relatively new law imposing harsher penalties for those who distribute the synthetic opioid…
