magistrate judge s. kato crews
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Kato Crews confirmed by Senate to Colorado’s federal trial court
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The U.S. Senate confirmed S. Kato Crews to a judgeship on Colorado’s U.S. District Court on Wednesday by a vote of 51-48, restoring the trial court to its full roster of seven active judges. With Crews’ confirmation, President Joe Biden has now appointed five of the court’s members, marking an unusually high level of turnover during…
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Federal judge tosses excessive force case against Adams County deputies
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Even though a man re-injured his shoulder after Adams County deputies placed him in handcuffs, a federal judge last month decided no constitutional violation took place during the “lawful, normal arrest.” During a late-night domestic dispute with his wife in June 2021, Gabriel Armijo destroyed his home garden and drove into a fence. Other people…
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10th Circuit agrees ex-Cherry Creek schools teacher failed to prove discrimination
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The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed last month that the Cherry Creek School District ended the contract of a veteran elementary school teacher because of her performance, not because she expressed discomfort with racial equity trainings. Leslie Shannon, who is Black and Native American, came to Highline Community Elementary School in 2016 after many…
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Mesa County judge chosen to be part-time federal judge
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Mesa County District Court Judge Richard T. Gurley will be Colorado’s next federal judge, taking office as the U.S. District Court’s part-time magistrate judge stationed in Grand Junction. Gov. Bill Owens appointed Gurley in 2006, eight years after the latter moved to Colorado from Florida. Prior to joining the judiciary, Gurley practiced criminal defense and…
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Federal judge tosses suit against Colorado Supreme Court in long-running foreclosure challenge
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A federal judge last month dismissed a woman’s latest attempt to challenge her 2014 foreclosure in state court, finding the Colorado Supreme Court could not be sued for issuing the procedural rules that affected her case. U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney also dismissed Holly MacIntyre’s claim against JPMorgan Chase Bank, which the company…
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Federal judge says Westminster officers not liable for using Taser on man in home in front of family
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Westminster police officers who hit and tased an intoxicated man in his home while his child and wife screamed for them to stop cannot be held liable for excessive force, a federal judge ruled last month. Although Jose Sariñana Gandara’s wife originally called 911 to inquire about transporting Sariñana to a detox facility, multiple officers who…
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Kato Crews advances out of Senate Judiciary Committee along party lines
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President Joe Biden’s latest nominee to be a federal trial judge in Colorado, S. Kato Crews, advanced out of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday with a party-line vote of 11-10. The committee acted on Crews’ nomination only after U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., returned to Washington, D.C. on Wednesday following an extended absence.…
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Federal judge refuses to dismiss 78-year-old man’s excessive force claims against Westminster officer
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A federal judge last week refused to dismiss an elderly man’s excessive force claims against a Westminster police officer who pushed him to the ground and tased him inside a Walmart. Lawyers for the city and Officer Michael Owen attempted to portray Clayton Louis Shriver, a retired electrician who reportedly suffers from numerous medical conditions,…
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Colorado lawyers sympathetic toward Kato Crews’ botched answer at confirmation hearing
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After U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Kato Crews drew a blank at his confirmation hearing when asked to describe the holding of a major U.S. Supreme Court decision, the embarrassing lapse quickly generated condemnation online. “ANOTHER Biden judicial nominee flunks basic legal quiz,” tweeted JCN, an advocacy group for conservative judicial nominees. But in Colorado, the…







