linda stanley
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Legislature overrules state Supreme Court decisions, federal judges contend with violations of orders | COURT CRAWL
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. The Colorado legislature overruled two recent state Supreme Court decisions in this year’s session, plus federal judges are addressing the government’s violations of their orders in immigration detention cases. Supreme Court news • By 5-2, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed that…
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Appeals court reinstates murder case despite ex-DA Linda Stanley’s conduct
Colorado’s second-highest court reinstated the murder and child abuse charges on Thursday against a Fremont County defendant, reasoning that the former district attorney’s misconduct did not warrant dismissal of the charges. A judge previously dismissed the criminal case against defendant William Jacobs after former elected District Attorney Linda Stanley spoke in derogatory terms about Jacobs…
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10th Circuit upholds dismissal of Barry Morphew’s civil lawsuit against prosecutors, investigators
The Denver-based federal appeals court agreed on Monday that Barry Morphew, who now stands accused for a second time of murdering his wife, failed to state viable claims against the government officials involved in his first, unsuccessful prosecution. Morphew was arrested in May 2021, almost a year after his wife, Suzanne Morphew, disappeared. State prosecutors…
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Appeals court reverses Fremont County judge’s sanction on DA’s office over evidence misunderstanding
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that a Fremont County judge was wrong to reduce the severity of a criminal charge because she believed the district attorney’s office failed to turn over police reports that, in reality, did not exist. Prosecutors charged Derek Eugene Ruppel in early 2025 with one felony and one misdemeanor count…
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Appeals court revives child abuse prosecution despite ex-DA’s ‘inappropriate’ comments to media
Colorado’s second-highest court reinstated the criminal charges in a Fremont County child abuse case on Thursday, acknowledging the elected district attorney’s public comments about the defendant were “inappropriate” but did not rise to the level of triggering dismissal. Last year, a judge dismissed the case against Brook N. Crawford after then-District Attorney Linda Stanley spoke…
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Divided Colorado Supreme Court upholds disbarment of ex-DA Linda Stanley
The Colorado Supreme Court, by 4-2, upheld the rare disbarment of an elected district attorney on Monday, concluding disciplinary officials correctly barred Linda Stanley from practicing law as a result of her inappropriate comments to the media and her improper attempt to remove a judge from a high-profile murder case. Voters of the 11th Judicial…
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Decision on former Morphew prosecutor’s fate delayed
The arm of the Colorado Supreme Court that oversees the state’s attorneys has pushed back Friday’s deadline to decide the fate of the embattled former prosecutor in the Morphew case. Linda Stanley, the sitting 11th Judicial District Attorney, could be disbarred, publicly or privately censured, or acquitted. She is accused of professional misconduct associated with…
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Colorado Supreme Court, 4-3, agrees with drastic penalty for misconduct-plagued DA’s office
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday, by 4-3, agreed a Fremont County judge was within her authority to reduce a first-degree murder charge against a criminal defendant because the district attorney’s office was responsible for a pattern of withholding evidence across many cases in violation of its professional obligations. Despite the split decision, all members…
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Ethics opinion: Judge may testify in misconduct investigation into DA
A trial judge may testify in misconduct proceedings involving an elected district attorney and their office without automatically needing to recuse from any criminal cases, the Colorado Supreme Court’s ethics panel concluded earlier this month. The Judicial Ethics Advisory Board, which consists of attorneys, judges and one non-lawyer, confirmed it is a judge’s duty to…
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Colorado Supreme Court reviews 3 cases, including prosecutor’s office plagued by misconduct
The Colorado Supreme Court has signaled it may intervene in three ongoing criminal cases, including one where the district attorney’s office chronically fails to turn over evidence to defendants – a practice that violates procedural rules and has angered trial judges in central Colorado. In the past few weeks, the Supreme Court has ordered parties to…