magistrate judge scott varholak
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Federal judge clarifies ex-GOP treasurer candidate’s burden to prove defamation claims
A federal judge clarified last week that businessman and former Republican statewide candidate Brian Watson will need to surmount a higher hurdle in proving his claim that a party guest’s alleged description of him as a “criminal” amounted to defamation. Watson was the GOP nominee for Colorado treasurer in 2018 and a 2012 candidate for…
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Ex-attorney cannot remain anonymous while suing Colorado judicial branch, says 10th Circuit
The Denver-based federal appeals court concluded last month that a former attorney cannot mask her identity while suing the Colorado Judicial Department for alleged improprieties in her disability and disbarment proceedings. “Jane Roe,” representing herself, sued the Judicial Department and attorney regulators in 2024. She accused the defendants of discrimination, defamation, and violations of her…
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10th Circuit rebuffs government, rules against shift to mandatory immigration detention
The Denver-based federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday against the government’s broad assertion of authority to keep people in immigration custody without the opportunity to demonstrate their suitability for release on bond. Although the regional appeals courts have reached different conclusions on the subject, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit decided the…
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U.S. government declines to oppose multiple challenges to immigration detention in Colorado
Multiple federal judges in Colorado granted petitions from people challenging the lawfulness of their immigration detention this week after the government took the unusual step of declining to submit arguments in opposition. Colorado’s federal trial court is facing a flood of “habeas corpus” petitions from those in immigration custody. The most common allegation is that the…
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10th Circuit dismisses Tina Peters’ challenge to confinement as moot
The Denver-based federal appeals court granted the state’s unopposed request on Wednesday to dismiss former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters’ challenge to her confinement as moot. Although Peters received a commutation of her prison sentence last month from Gov. Jared Polis and has since left prison, her federal proceedings addressed whether Peters could be freed…
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Federal judges’ responses vary to immigration authorities’ disregard of orders
Colorado’s U.S. District Court judges have responded in recent days to the government’s violations of, or unclear compliance with, their orders in immigration detention cases, resulting in directives to immediately free the petitioners. “I’m just struggling to understand how he was removed from the United States even though (the government acknowledges) he could not be…
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10th Circuit rules State Farm not required to pay benefits in I‑25 swerving crash
The Denver-based federal appeals court concluded last week that two vehicle occupants who were injured while swerving to avoid a man in the middle of Interstate 25 are not entitled to insurance benefits. Plaintiffs Stephanie Mazur and Julia Wunder were in a vehicle insured by State Farm at the time of their wreck. The insurance…
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Federal judge rejects Tina Peters’ request for release pending appeal
A federal judge rejected the petition of former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters on Monday to be released from incarceration pending the resolution of her criminal appeal. Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak wrote in a Dec. 8 order that Peters satisfied none of the criteria that permit federal courts to intervene in ongoing…
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Federal judge overturns order to keep bank robbery defendant detained pretrial
A federal judge on Tuesday reversed an order to keep a man accused of bank robbery detained pending trial, while acknowledging it was a “close question” whether to release the defendant on home detention with GPS monitoring. In a Sept. 16 order, U.S. District Court Senior Judge William J. Martínez concluded the government failed to…
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Federal judge finds no civil rights violation for Black family alleging discrimination at Chili’s
A federal judge concluded last week that a Black family’s negative experience at a Denver Chili’s restaurant was not the product of intentional racial discrimination, but rather the staff’s belief that the customers previously walked out without paying for their meal. Markesha Futrell-Smith filed claims under state and federal civil rights law, alleging a Chili’s…