mesa county
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Federal judge hears testimony, arguments over whether to order ICE to follow warrantless arrest law
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A federal judge heard testimony on Thursday from multiple noncitizens who were arrested by immigration officers in Colorado this year, and arguments from their attorneys that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is violating the legal standard for conducting warrantless arrests. The ACLU of Colorado and other law firms have asked U.S. District Court Senior Judge…
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Colorado justices consider whether man can be convicted for convincing mom to lie for him
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There was no dispute that Michael Thomas Hupke asked his mother to lie to his parole officer on his behalf. Further, Hupke acknowledged Mesa County prosecutors could have charged him as an accomplice to his mother’s deceit, or for soliciting her to do it. But Hupke maintained prosecutors could not do what they actually did:…
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Colorado justices, 5-2, conclude prior version of ‘3 strikes’ law satisfied Constitution
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The state’s highest court ruled on Monday that the version of Colorado’s “three strikes” law that was in effect before this year was constitutionally compliant, notwithstanding a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that prompted the legislature to change how defendants are sentenced. Known as the Habitual Criminal Act, Colorado’s law requires judges to impose three or…
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Appeals judge urges Colorado Supreme Court to analyze alimony obligations after spouses’ remarriage
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A member of Colorado’s second-highest court urged the state Supreme Court on Thursday to address a question that has produced inconsistent answers over five decades: When divorcing spouses agree that one must pay the other alimony, do they need to explicitly mention what will happen if the receiving spouse gets remarried? The purpose of alimony,…
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Colorado’s new ‘reasonable doubt’ instruction upheld, despite cautions from some appeals judges
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Colorado’s second-highest court has upheld the recently reworded definition of “reasonable doubt” that appears in the template jury instructions for criminal trials, which generated controversy at the time of its debut. In a pair of precedent-setting opinions issued the same day last week, two separate panels for the Court of Appeals found no legal deficiency…
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Federal judge IDs flaw with Tina Peters’ request for release
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A federal judge on Monday warned former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters that her request to be released while she appeals her 2024 criminal convictions appears to be brought improperly and may be subject to dismissal. Jurors convicted Peters for her role in a security breach of her office’s voting equipment. She is currently serving a…
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Colorado Supreme Court considers father’s window to sue over daughter’s injury, death
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Facing a confusing matrix in state law, members of the Colorado Supreme Court attempted to sort out on Wednesday how long a father had to sue after his daughter was rendered unconscious and later died from a vehicle accident. Danielle Nicola was crossing a Grand Junction street one night in November 2018 when a driver…
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Defendant’s ‘extreme religious beliefs’ did not render her incompetent, appeals court rules
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Colorado’s second-highest court decided last week that a defendant’s “extreme religious beliefs” did not render her incompetent to proceed, nor did they invalidate her decision to represent herself at trial. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals did not believe Ika Eden had any mental health issues that interfered with her ability to understand…
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Appeals court finds Mesa County judge incorrectly analyzed evidence for second time in sex assault trial
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last month that a Mesa County judge used the incorrect standard when deciding if a defendant should receive a new trial — even after a prior Court of Appeals decision explicitly ordered the judge to fix his earlier evidence-related mistake. A three-judge appellate panel, by 2-1, believed then-District Court Judge Richard T.…
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Colorado justices uphold sanction against lawyer for being a ‘bully’ to school employees
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The Colorado Supreme Court agreed on Monday that a public censure with a medical evaluation was an appropriate sanction for an attorney who, in his own words, acted like a bully toward school employees in the presence of his teenage client. Igor Raykin had appealed the punishment imposed by Colorado’s presiding disciplinary judge, arguing in…