justice william hood
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A tattoo, the N-word, a different crime: Colorado justices hear appeal of former death row inmate
Almost 20 years after the murders of a young couple in Aurora, the Colorado Supreme Court heard the appeal of the man convicted of orchestrating the killings and who now alleges numerous errors pervaded his trial. Arapahoe County jurors convicted Robert Keith Ray for the 2005 slayings of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe. He received…
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Appeals court upholds dismissal of Black juror for negative experiences with police
Colorado’s second-highest court agreed earlier this month that an Arapahoe County prosecutor did not remove a Black woman from a jury because of her race, even though she had explicitly attributed her prior negative interactions with police to “the color of my skin.” Under longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, intentional race-based discrimination in jury selection…
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Colorado Supreme Court confirms ‘3 strikes’ sentences not subject to challenge years afterward
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that defendants serving lengthy sentences under the state’s “three strikes” law, and whose convictions have been final for years or decades, do not have the opportunity to argue their punishments are excessive under current standards. Although Colorado’s Habitual Criminal Act has undergone changes since its enactment nearly a century ago,…
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Colorado Supreme Court wary of requiring child welfare workers to give Miranda warnings prior to interrogations
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court seemed hesitant on Wednesday to endorse the idea that child welfare workers must provide a Miranda warning before interrogating a parent in custody, even if the conversation will later be used in a criminal prosecution. The state’s Court of Appeals previously upheld the murder convictions of two men, both…
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Colorado justices rule plaintiffs can use open records law for evidence when suing government
The Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday that nothing in the state’s open records law prevents a person from seeking documents from public entities at the same time they are suing the government in court. Although the justices agreed that a plaintiff properly used the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) to seek a tape recording…
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Colorado justice, law professor discuss uncharted territory for federal regulations in wake of SCOTUS precedent
Colorado attorneys heard on Tuesday that federal courts are in a “free-for-all” as they interpret recent U.S. Supreme Court precedent shifting power from executive agencies to judges to determine whether regulations are appropriate or not. “One of the dominant theories is that Congress delegates because it simply doesn’t have the time or the expertise to address…
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Colorado Supreme Court rebuffs AG’s plea to scrap restitution ruling while remaining open to tweaks
During a marathon session of oral arguments on Tuesday, members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared open to tweaking their landmark 2021 decision warning trial judges and prosecutors to follow the law when awarding restitution to crime victims. But the justices quickly gave the Colorado Attorney General’s Office a reality check, indicating the Supreme Court…
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‘I’m gonna call that out’: Colorado justices speak about problematic lawyering, role of international law
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court fielded detailed questions from an audience of law students on Thursday, with one justice asked to explain why he reprimanded an attorney for using “strident” language during oral argument. “I’m gonna call that out when I see it. I think sometimes judges are afraid to call that out and…
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Colorado Supreme Court ponders constitutionality of delayed vehicle search
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court suggested on Wednesday that Denver police could have moved more rapidly to obtain a search warrant for a man’s vehicle, but at the same time they doubted the delay amounted to a constitutional violation. A trial judge previously barred prosecutors from using evidence of narcotics found in Arthur Mills’…
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‘Half-baked,’ ‘wild outlier’: Colorado justices mull jettisoning insurance documents appeal
After a trial judge took the rare step of admitting she used the wrong legal standard when ordering the disclosure of documents in an insurance dispute, the Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday wondered whether it would be overstepping by issuing guidance in the appeal. “This feels half-baked to me,” said Justice Carlos A. Samour Jr.…