justice carlos samour
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Colorado justices disagree father was entitled to new jury trial after faulty first proceeding
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday concluded a father was not automatically entitled to a child neglect jury trial after his first proceeding in El Paso County was overturned, and instead faulted the man for failing to reiterate his demand for a jury trial. For parents involved in child welfare cases, Colorado lawmakers have given them…
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Colorado Supreme Court adopts scaled-back racial bias rule after 2.5 years of consideration
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Thursday adopted a long-stalled rule aimed at curbing racial discrimination in jury selection, which differs in substantial ways from the proposal its criminal rules committee forwarded more than two years ago. Prominently, the court removed the original default prohibition on lawyers removing jurors of color for certain reasons that, while not explicitly…
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Colorado Supreme Court clarifies requirements of child prostitution offense
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The Colorado Supreme Court waded into a split that developed in the state’s second-highest court, clarifying on Monday that prosecutors do not need to prove a defendant intended specifically for a child to be prostituted in order to secure a conviction. Under Colorado law, soliciting for child prostitution is an offense that requires someone to…
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Colorado justices raise eyebrows at Denver judge’s restrictions on juvenile defendant
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared unnerved on Wednesday at the restrictions a Denver judge placed on a teenage defendant’s attempt to argue that he should be tried as a juvenile, not as an adult. Lawyers for Clayshjon Eugene Clark-Collins sought the Supreme Court’s intervention after his trial judge indicated he largely did not want…
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Colorado justices mull level of proof needed for crime of possessing others’ debit cards
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court considered on Tuesday whether simply having another person’s debit card amounts to the crime of possessing someone’s “financial device,” or if prosecutors must also prove the card is functional. During oral arguments, Justice Richard L. Gabriel said he was worried about over-criminalizing conduct that, practically speaking, might not have…
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Colorado Supreme Court ponders whether Lakewood violated TABOR in expanding phone provider tax
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court considered on Tuesday whether Lakewood violated the state constitution by expanding the scope of a 1969 tax ordinance twice in the last three decades to encompass cell phone providers — but without holding a popular vote. A Jefferson County judge believed the city’s actions failed to comply with the 1992…
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‘Weird,’ ‘confusing,’ ‘disheartening’: Colorado Supreme Court under fire over racial bias proposal
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Several members of a Colorado Supreme Court advisory committee aired their frustration last week after the justices announced they had reached consensus on a proposal to combat racial discrimination in jury selection — by substantially watering down the protections built into the original draft. The Supreme Court took the unusual step of asking its Rules of…
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Colorado Supreme Court reaches consensus on stalled racial bias rule, with heavy revisions
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The Colorado Supreme Court notified a small group of lawyers and judges last week that it has tentatively agreed on a new rule addressing racial bias in jury selection for criminal trials, breaking its yearslong silence on the proposed reform. Most prominently, the court’s proposed path forward would no longer designate certain justifications for removing…
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Despite tough talk, Colorado justices punch holes in 2021 crime victim restitution ruling
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In a package of five opinions released on Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court stood by its general interpretation of the state’s crime victim restitution law from four years ago, while it simultaneously agreed that some judges’ violations of the law are not subject to challenge. The marathon set of oral arguments last fall made clear…