Justice Susan Blanco
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Divided opinions tick upward, member goes missing | Colorado Supreme Court term in review
The Colorado Supreme Court released the last decisions of its 2025-2026 term at the end of June, with the final numbers showing a significant uptick in non-unanimous opinions over the prior two terms. Further, the composition of the court had an unexpected change, with the appointment of Justice Susan Blanco in February to succeed Justice…
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Colorado justices weigh ‘extreme’ proposals for civil jury trial requests
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court grappled last week with two vastly different proposals for evaluating when it is appropriate for a civil litigant to ask for a jury trial, as opposed to a bench trial before a judge. The Colorado Constitution does not contain the right to a jury trial in civil cases. Instead,…
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Colorado justices weigh ‘extreme’ proposals for civil jury trial requests
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court grappled last week with two vastly different proposals for evaluating when it is appropriate for a civil litigant to ask for a jury trial, as opposed to a bench trial before a judge. The Colorado Constitution does not contain the right to a jury trial in civil cases. Instead,…
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Colorado justices suggest father entitled to appeal of custody decision
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court signaled strongly on Tuesday that a father deserved some avenue for challenging a temporary child custody order that no lower court believed it could review due to the unusual circumstances of the case. Because the appeal involved a child welfare matter, neither the underlying filings describing the case nor…
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Colorado justices agree fraud claims belong in corporate dispute
The Colorado Supreme Court decided on Tuesday that a corporate plaintiff validly pursued fraud claims over conduct that was not 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, independent from any contract,…
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Boulder police overreached in interrogating suspect, Colorado Supreme Court finds
Two Boulder detectives violated a man’s constitutional rights by interrogating him at his home using a court order that solely authorized the collection of his DNA evidence, the Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Tuesday. The ruling curtailed the ability of police to use a narrow category of court orders, issued without probable cause, to obtain…
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Property owners may access evidence before eminent domain decisions, Colorado justices conclude
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 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 its property through eminent domain. In a June 23 opinion, Justice Susan Blanco wrote that the law does not explicitly provide…
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Colorado Supreme Court heads toward summer recess, newest justice authors first opinion | COURT CRAWL
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. The state Supreme Court is in the process of releasing a large batch of opinions as it heads toward its summer recess in July, plus the newest justice authored her first opinion for the court. Colorado Supreme Court news • The…
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Colorado justices say insurers may access policyholders’ medical info in denied-benefits litigation
The Colorado Supreme Court declined on Monday to expand its narrow prohibition on insurance companies accessing policyholders’ medical information, clarifying that a dispute over an insurer’s bad-faith decision to deny benefits is the only situation where a company is limited to the information it knew at the time of the decision. In 2018, the Supreme…
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Colorado Supreme Court upholds police search of car based on arm movements
The Colorado Supreme Court decided last week that Denver officers’ search of a vehicle was constitutional, based on their perception of the occupants’ arm movements that a trial judge found to not be credible. Officers Keegan Grubb and Richard Eberharter were patrolling West Denver one night in February 2025. Their purpose was to make “as…