justice maria berkenkotter
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Colorado Supreme Court wary of letting judges restrict defense lawyers’ work on postconviction claims
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court seemed sympathetic last week to the idea that trial judges, under the current rules for criminal cases, cannot restrict defense attorneys from investigating postconviction claims their clients raise when at least one of the claims has merit. Convicted defendants may seek postconviction relief for specific reasons, including that their sentence is…
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Colorado justices skeptical Aurora officer committed Miranda violation on road rage suspect
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared skeptical last week that a road rage suspect was “in custody” at the time an Aurora police officer interrogated him, as the state’s second-highest court believed was the case. Under the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Miranda v. Arizona, police must inform a suspect of their rights to…
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Colorado justices agree ‘nature of relationship’ with minor relatives governs sex offender restrictions
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The Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday that a person on sex offender probation does not have his constitutional rights violated anytime his contact is restricted with minor relatives who are not his children. Instead, the Supreme Court decided such relationships fall on a “spectrum of protection,” with parent-child relationships requiring the greatest degree of…
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Colorado justices explore limits of anti-discrimination law in Masterpiece Cakeshop appeal
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court explored on Tuesday the tension between LGBTQ customers’ ability to be free from discrimination in the marketplace and business owners’ competing right not to be forced to express messages that violate their conscience. During oral arguments, some justices noted the difficulty of disentangling customers’ protected characteristics, like race or…
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Colorado justices find Adams County judge mistakenly barred drug evidence from man’s arrest
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An Adams County judge mistakenly concluded that sheriff’s deputies unconstitutionally prolonged a traffic stop, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday, when the facts showed the officers had actually placed the defendant under “full arrest” supported by probable cause. The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and there are limits on law enforcement’s ability…
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Colorado justices, 4-3, reject defendant’s challenge to biased judge
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Although the Colorado Supreme Court acknowledged on Monday that a Saguache County judge was disqualified by law from presiding over a criminal case because she briefly represented the defendant before her appointment to the bench, a majority concluded there was nothing it could do because the defense knew about the conflict and stayed silent. By…
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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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Colorado justices, attorneys take questions from students with focus on gender disparity
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The Colorado Supreme Court traveled to Pueblo on Thursday where it heard oral arguments in two real cases and fielded questions from students, with a focus on the experiences of the three female justices in contrast with the male majority. “I used to be a trial court judge and every now and then, I had…
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Colorado Supreme Court clarifies who owns oil, gas rights beneath streets
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday, citing a need to avoid mass litigation across the state, ruled for the first time that property owners generally retain the mineral rights under roadways adjacent to their land, up to the center line. The decision resolved the question of who is entitled to oil and gas royalties for…
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Colorado justices, 4-3, uphold Denver jury’s $9.2 million award for botched surgery
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The Colorado Supreme Court, in a divided ruling on Monday, left in place a Denver jury’s award of more than $9.2 million to a man severely injured after his back surgery at Sky Ridge Medical Center went wrong. Although Colorado law limits damages in medical malpractice cases to $1 million, it is possible for a judge…