justice maria berkenkotter
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Colorado legislature overrules 2 state Supreme Court decisions about child neglect, visitation
Colorado lawmakers have overruled a recent pair of state Supreme Court decisions, adopting the dissenting justices’ points of view in cases involving grandparent visitation rights and the ability of children to oppose a county’s decision to withdraw a neglect case. The recently enacted legislation addressed two split decisions that the Supreme Court released within days…
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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 Supreme Court narrows consumer protection law for insurance claims
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the legislature’s consumer protections requiring insurance companies to take certain steps before they allege a policyholder failed to cooperate do not apply to any obligation specifically laid out in the policy. In 2020, the legislature changed state law to limit insurance companies’ ability to assert a failure-to-cooperate defense when…
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Colorado justices, lawyers speak with rural students through outreach program
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared before students from eight rural schools on April 16 to hear a pair of cases, field questions, and mark the first time the state’s newest justice participated in the long-running program. “I had such a unique opportunity to get to work with so many people in my career.…
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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 justices weigh constitutionality of unique disclosure requirement for ballot measures
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court considered on Tuesday whether a unique feature of the state’s campaign finance system categorically violates the First Amendment by requiring the disclosure of a ballot measure committee’s legal representative on advertisements. No on EE — A Bad Deal for Colorado was an issue committee in 2020 that opposed Proposition EE,…
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Colorado justices block injured plaintiff from suing, despite alleged concealment by Manitou Springs
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a woman injured on a Manitou Springs sidewalk could not sue the allegedly responsible entity, the city of Colorado Springs, even though she did not learn until too late of an agreement that made the city liable for the defective infrastructure. Jaimi J. Mostellar argued that Manitou…
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El Paso County defendant’s speedy trial rights violated, Colorado justices find in overturning convictions
The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday that an El Paso County prosecutor made an unjustified decision to file a mid-case appeal, pushing the trial beyond the legal deadline and requiring that the defendant’s convictions be overturned. In Colorado, the government generally must bring criminal defendants to trial within six months of a not-guilty plea,…
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Colorado justices side with news organizations for disclosure of high-level child abuse data
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the state must disclose the number of child abuse reports at individual group living facilities in response to an open records request, as the addresses are already in the public domain. The justices agreed that the Court of Appeals erred in resolving the case. But beyond that,…
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Colorado justices weigh fairness concerns after defendant prevailed despite ghosting case
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court struggled on Tuesday to balance the need for one defendant to shield itself against a plaintiff’s claim that its employee sexually assaulted her child, and the fact that the employee legally admitted the allegations against him by failing to participate in nearly all of the civil case. A plaintiff…