mental state
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Colorado Supreme Court clarifies requirements of child prostitution offense
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The Colorado Supreme Court waded into a split that developed in the state’s second-highest court, clarifying on Monday that prosecutors do not need to prove a defendant intended specifically for a child to be prostituted in order to secure a conviction. Under Colorado law, soliciting for child prostitution is an offense that requires someone to…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts cases on leaving the scene of accidents, insurance
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will consider whether prosecutors must prove defendants knew they were involved in an accident resulting in death or serious injury in order to be convicted for leaving the scene. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. The…
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SCOTUS stalking decision does not apply to non-speech behavior, appeals court rules
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Colorado’s second-highest court clarified on Thursday that a U.S. Supreme Court decision recognizing First Amendment protections for alleged stalkers does not apply to prosecutions where the defendant’s stalking is based on something other than their speech. By 7-2, the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Counterman v. Colorado in 2023, a case out of Arapahoe County…
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Colorado policymakers eye revisions to speech-based criminal laws in response to SCOTUS decision
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After the U.S. Supreme Court clarified on Tuesday that Colorado’s law criminalizing stalking fails to account for a defendant’s intent in making threatening comments, state policymakers suggested legislation may be warranted to balance the need to protect victims with the constitutional requirement to respect free speech. The state Supreme Court will also likely need to…
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Appeals court forges ahead on child prostitution question after Supreme Court takes a pass
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Weighing in on a question the Colorado Supreme Court recently left for “another day,” the state’s Court of Appeals decided last week that prosecutors need only prove a defendant knowingly arranges for a child’s prostitution and not that he specifically intends for the child to be prostituted. In addressing the subtle, but meaningful, distinction, a…
