justice richard gabriel
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Colorado justices say utilities commission overreached by immunizing Xcel in rate document
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Xcel Energy cannot rely upon a rate-setting document to broadly immunize itself from liability against electrocutions, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. The justices originally heard the electrocution-related lawsuit from Francisco Cuevas to decide whether Xcel’s tariff, which sets the rates and terms of service for its customers, shielded the utility from liability when…
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Colorado Supreme Court committee rejects civility proposal amid fears of weaponization by judges, ‘jerks’
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The Colorado Supreme Court’s Civil Rules Committee overwhelmingly rejected a proposal last week to create an enforceable “civility code” for lawyers and legal paraprofessionals, which would allow judges to quickly impose corrective action without a formal complaint and investigation by attorney regulators. Although several committee members acknowledged poor behavior in the legal profession, there was…
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Appeals judge asks Colorado Supreme Court to once again clarify magistrate rules
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A member of Colorado’s second-highest court urged the state Supreme Court last week to revise confusing language in the rules governing magistrates, less than two weeks after an attempted cleanup of the rules took effect. Magistrates are judicial employees who are not judges but who handle aspects of cases in the trial courts. Litigants may consent…
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Colorado justices weigh overlap between child prostitution offenses
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court last week appeared willing to uphold a man’s conviction for an attempted child prostitution offense, which the state’s second-highest court previously found to be a violation of his right to equal protection under the law. An El Paso County jury convicted Javier Vega Dominguez of two attempted child prostitution…
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Colorado justices weigh constitutionality of student backpack search based on confidential tip
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The Colorado Supreme Court considered on Wednesday whether a tip submitted through the state’s confidential school safety system provided a Douglas County administrator with reasonable suspicion to search a student’s backpack for drugs. A trial judge blocked evidence from the search from being used against the child, prompting the district attorney’s office to appeal directly…
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Colorado Supreme Court struggles with rubric for significant reductions in parenting time
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The Colorado Supreme Court attempted to identify on Wednesday the circumstances under which judges may reduce the number of days a parent spends with their child post-divorce without it rising to the level of a “restriction” that requires more rigorous justification under the law. During oral arguments, some members expressed discomfort with a recent Court…
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Colorado justices wary of expanding rezoning by ballot initiative
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The Colorado Supreme Court appeared wary on Wednesday of allowing rezonings of planned-unit developments to occur through a vote at the ballot box, rather than a municipality’s detailed review process that accounts for specific factors. In contrast to traditional, or “Euclidean,” zoning that separates land uses by type, planned-unit developments are based on negotiated agreements on…
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Arapahoe County law enforcement improperly obtained confidential medical records, justices find
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Law enforcement in Arapahoe County improperly obtained a criminal defendant’s confidential medical records and cannot use them in her child abuse prosecution, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. The justices also declined to say whether the body-worn camera footage of a police officer who was present during the defendant’s treatment was similarly protected by…
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Colorado justices clarify procedure for defendants to access DNA analyst’s criminal file
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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that trial judges may order Jefferson County prosecutors to disclose information related to the criminal prosecution of a DNA analyst accused of misconduct, but defendants seeking those files cannot rely on the order alone to gain access. Yvonne “Missy” Woods is a former Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA…
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Colorado Supreme Court ponders insurers’ ability to defend against policyholders
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The Colorado Supreme Court considered last week what steps insurance companies must take to defend themselves against lawsuits from injured policyholders who, based on a technicality, were legally not at fault for their injuries. When an insured driver has an accident with someone who is uninsured, they may obtain benefits under their own insurance policy…
