la plata county
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Appeals court warns judges, prosecutors to stop dragging feet on victim restitution
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday warned that prosecutors should be moving faster to determine the financial restitution owed to crime victims, and that trial judges are empowered to nudge the prosecution along by setting a timeline for calculating the amount owed. The decision from the Court of Appeals is the latest in a spate of restitution-related…
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Jury to hear ex-La Plata County jail nurse’s retaliation case under new Colorado whistleblower law
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A jury will decide whether a former nurse in the La Plata County jail experienced retaliation and discrimination under a Colorado law enacted early in the COVID-19 pandemic to protect whistleblowers who raise public health concerns in the workplace. Last month, U.S. District Court Senior Judge Lewis T. Babcock acknowledged no other courts had yet…
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‘I was different and they didn’t want that’: Judge’s approach collides with voters’ expectations of justice | COVER STORY
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In January 2021, La Plata County Court Judge Anne K. Woods presided over an emotionally-fraught sentencing hearing: Preston Edward Pitcher, a church leader, pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor offenses after sexually abusing young adults whom he groomed as children. Despite the option to impose jail time, Woods opted against incarcerating Pitcher for 60 days and…
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Appeals court clarifies defendants’ ability to access officers’ personnel files
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Colorado’s second-highest court has clarified that criminal defendants are not automatically entitled to have a trial judge review and possibly release a police officer’s personnel file, but instead must show the request is factually relevant and not a “general fishing expedition.” Last month, the state’s Court of Appeals determined a La Plata County judge acted…
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La Plata County judge resigns after losing retention election
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La Plata County Court Judge Anne Kathryn Woods resigned her seat on Wednesday after being the only state judge voters chose not to retain in this year’s general election based on the unofficial results. In her resignation email to Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright, Woods alluded to her own missteps, as well as inaccurate perceptions…
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When is it a felony or a misdemeanor to spit on a cop?
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Colorado’s Supreme Court settled on a definition of what state lawmakers meant when they made it a felony to spit on police officers with an intent to harm, agreeing on Monday to vacate a woman’s convictions because a trial judge’s attempt at defining “harm” was incorrect. Spitting on a first responder could constitute either a…
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To harm or not to harm: State Supreme Court examines law against spitting on officers
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Although it is undisputed that intentionally spitting on a police officer is a crime, Colorado’s Supreme Court justices on Tuesday grappled with whether a La Plata County woman was properly convicted of a felony offense for her spitting or if she actually committed a less serious infraction. A jury found Cheryl Lynette Plemmons guilty in 2017…
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Judge rules Archuleta, La Plata counties may be held liable for detainee’s suicide
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A federal judge has refused to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit against La Plata and Archuleta counties for the suicide of a 21-year-old man who hung himself in jail and remained undiscovered for more than two hours, despite being on suicide watch. Saul Hernandez de la Torre was arrested in Archuleta County but housed in…
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COLORADO ROUNDUP | Sheriff can’t honor ICE hold on inmates
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COLORADO SPRINGS Sheriff can’t honor ICE hold on inmates, judge rules El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder can’t hold inmates if they are eligible for release solely on the basis of federal immigration authorities’ suspicion that they are in the country illegally, a judge ruled Dec. 6. The decision by 4th Judicial District Judge Eric…
