justice carlos samour
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Divided Colorado Supreme Court finds parental anonymity in ‘safe haven’ law
Parents who surrender their newborns under Colorado’s “safe haven” law are entitled to anonymity and confidentiality in any subsequent adoptive proceedings involving the child, the state Supreme Court ruled on June 8. Colorado’s law, like its counterparts across the country, is intended to provide new parents with an alternative to abandoning an infant in potentially…
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Colorado justices say judges can nearly eliminate parenting time without it being a ‘restriction’
The Colorado Supreme Court concluded last month that judges can reduce the number of days a parent spends with their child post-divorce to just above zero without it rising to the level of a “restriction” that requires more rigorous justification under the law. While all members of the court agreed that a judge’s decision to…
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Colorado justices consider whether fraud claims belong in corporate dispute
The Colorado Supreme Court considered on Tuesday whether it is possible for a corporate plaintiff to pursue fraud claims over conduct that could be covered by a contract or by a set of interrelated business agreements leading up to the contract. Previously, the Court of Appeals found that Veolia Water Technologies, Inc. had a duty,…
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Colorado justices acknowledge judge’s misunderstanding of law in eminent domain case
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared to agree on Tuesday that a Douglas County judge incorrectly believed he lacked the authority to allow a property owner to pursue evidence challenging a government entity’s legal right to take the property through eminent domain. But during oral arguments, multiple justices bristled when an attorney for the…
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Colorado justices skeptical of defendant’s challenge to flawed jury instruction
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared willing to uphold a defendant’s vehicular eluding conviction on Tuesday, suggesting that an incorrectly worded jury instruction was not an obvious and harmful error in light of the defense’s choice not to dispute the evidence. A Denver jury convicted Jeffery Sloan of killing Yasir Hasan and Mark Karla by running…
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Colorado Supreme Court rebuffs DA’s office over evidentiary appeal
The Colorado Supreme Court rebuffed a district attorney’s office on Monday for immediately pursuing an appeal of a trial judge’s evidentiary decision that the court had no authority to hear. State law authorizes prosecutors to file a mid-case, or “interlocutory,” appeal to the Supreme Court when a judge suppresses key evidence from being used in…
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Car rental companies are not ‘insurers,’ Colorado Supreme Court rules
The Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday that car rental companies offering insurance policies are not also “insurers” under state law, who may be sued for their failure to pay out benefits on claims. By 4-3, the justices further concluded that Hertz Corp. was not a “de facto” insurer simply because it was heavily involved…
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Colorado justices skeptical of snowboarder’s bid to revive injury lawsuit after signing new waiver
The Colorado Supreme Court seemed to agree on Thursday that a plaintiff is not entitled to continue his snowboarding injury lawsuit because he purchased another pass in the middle of litigation that released all past legal claims. “It says you’re releasing anything which has happened up to now. It seems pretty plain language what it…
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Colorado Supreme Court appears OK with revised ‘reasonable doubt’ instruction
The Colorado Supreme Court appeared largely comfortable on Thursday with the recently revised definition of “reasonable doubt” that is now part of the template jury instructions for criminal cases. To date, multiple Court of Appeals decisions have endorsed the constitutionality of the new phrasing, which resembles the instruction given in Colorado’s federal trial court. U.S.…
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Colorado Supreme Court concerned about police overreach in interrogations
Some members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared hesitant on Tuesday to endorse the ability of police to interrogate a suspect after they have obtained a court order authorizing only the collection of physical evidence. Under Colorado’s criminal rules, law enforcement may obtain an order for “nontestimonial identification,” allowing them to pursue a person’s fingerprints, blood specimen,…