mesa county
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Federal judge sides with Mesa County school district in ex-student’s First Amendment claims
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A federal judge concluded last week that Mesa County Valley School District 51 and three of its administrators did not violate the First Amendment rights of a former student when they imposed minor discipline in response to disruptive behavior. In the landmark 1969 decision of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the U.S. Supreme Court…
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Colorado appeals court orders new sentencing for Tina Peters, upholds convictions
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Colorado’s second-highest court determined on Thursday that a trial judge improperly sentenced former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters based upon her exercise of protected speech, while at the same time upholding her convictions. The three-judge Court of Appeals panel also concluded that President Donald Trump’s attempted pardon of Peters for state-level convictions last year was…
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Colorado Supreme Court to review child custody decision
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will review whether the state’s second-highest court described the correct framework for deciding whether to terminate a parent’s legal rights over a child. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to hear a case on appeal. Currently, there is one vacancy that will…
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In Tina Peters appeal, judges telegraph some degree of reversal | ANALYSIS
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Former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters seems poised to walk away from the state’s Court of Appeals with her criminal convictions largely intact, even as a three-judge appellate panel raised concerns about her sentence and one specific conviction. Peters, a Republican who served one term following her 2018 election, is serving a roughly nine-year prison…
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Former Rep. Rose Pugliese vies for Mesa County Treasurer
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Former Republican Leader Rose Pugliese has jumped into the 2026 primary for Mesa County Treasurer. Pugliese moved to Grand Junction after resigning from the Colorado House in September, citing a “collapse of integrity” within the Colorado House. She previously served two terms, from 2013 to 2021, as a Mesa County commissioner. Pugliese announced she is…
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Appeals court decides violations of child custody orders may be prosecuted per child
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded for the first time on Wednesday that a defendant may be charged with violating a child custody order based on the number of children affected, not the number of orders violated. Mesa County jurors convicted Tiffany Jean Wilson on four counts of violating a custody order. She drove off with her…
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Federal judge rejects Tina Peters’ request for release pending appeal
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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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Appeals court wipes away defendant’s $66,000 restitution obligation after trial judge did not follow law
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Colorado’s second-highest court voided a defendant’s obligation to pay more than $66,000 in crime victim restitution last week, finding a Mesa County judge neglected to follow the process laid out in state law. In Colorado, as part of sentencing, judges must consider whether defendants owe financial restitution to their victims. If so, prosecutors generally need to…
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Mesa County judge wrong to conclude hatchet not a ‘knife,’ says appeals court
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Colorado’s second-highest court determined last week that a Mesa County judge incorrectly reduced a defendant’s menacing charge from a felony to a misdemeanor after finding his hatchet did not meet the definition of “knife.” A person commits menacing as a misdemeanor if they use threats or physical actions to place another person in fear of…
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Appeals judge raises questions about review of custody decisions
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A member of Colorado’s second-highest court suggested last week that appellate judges should have more leeway to decide whether trial judges correctly terminate or decline to terminate parents’ legal rights over their children. At the same time, the three-judge Court of Appeals panel agreed that no specific person has to be identified in order for…