mesa county

Colorado justices weigh path forward after SCOTUS decision conflicts with ‘3 strikes’ law

Mar 12, 2025

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Michael Karlik

Members of the Colorado Supreme Court considered on Tuesday the request from prosecutors, on the one hand, to interpret the state’s “three strikes” law in a way that is constitutionally compliant, and the defense community’s argument, on the other hand, that the law should be struck down. Known as the Habitual Criminal Act, the law…
Appeals court expresses ‘some concerns’ with Mesa County judge’s cookie analogy

Feb 18, 2025

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Michael Karlik

Colorado second-highest court expressed “some concerns” last week about a Mesa County judge’s comparison of a defendant’s constitutional right to silence to a hypothetical child who has obviously eaten cookies but refuses to admit it. However, a three-judge Court of Appeals panel agreed the illustration did not undermine the fairness of the trial because then-District…
SCOTUS stalking decision does not apply to non-speech behavior, appeals court rules

Feb 7, 2025

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Michael Karlik

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…
Appeals court says defendants must pay restitution even if prosecution ‘undercharges’ them

Feb 3, 2025

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Michael Karlik

Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that criminal defendants must still pay financial restitution to their victims for the losses they cause, even if they are convicted of a crime that caps the dollar amount at something less. In Colorado, as part of sentencing, judges must consider whether defendants owe financial restitution to their victims. Restitution means…
Mesa County judge wrongly acquitted bail bondsman, appeals court rules

Jan 30, 2025

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Michael Karlik

A Mesa County judge incorrectly acquitted a defendant in the middle of his trial, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday, concluding the evidence could have led to the man’s conviction for using a “ruse” or “trickery” to enter an apartment unlawfully. Due to the constitutional prohibition on double jeopardy, defendant Kenneth Maurice Hill’s acquittal stands and…
Colorado justices to hear cases on defendant who blamed mom, car rental companies as insurers

Dec 31, 2024

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Michael Karlik

The Colorado Supreme Court announced last week that it will analyze whether a person can be convicted of attempting to influence a public servant when they enlist another party to perform the deceit, and whether vehicle rental companies can be held legally liable as insurers when they choose to offer insurance policies. At least three…
Tina Peters’ contempt finding, $1,500 fine over iPad recording overturned by appeals court

Dec 24, 2024

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Michael Karlik

Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned the contempt conviction and $1,500 fine for former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters, concluding a trial judge did not make all the necessary findings that Peters had willfully disobeyed a court order. Peters is currently serving a nine-year sentence after a jury found her guilty this year of attempting…
10th Circuit grants immunity to Grand Junction, Mesa County officers who fatally shot man 16 times

Dec 24, 2024

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Michael Karlik

The federal appeals court based in Denver ruled last week that Grand Junction and Mesa County law enforcement officers could not be held liable for shooting and killing an allegedly mentally ill man in his driveway. The widow of Steve Alire sued multiple officers, plus the city and county themselves, for excessive force. The defendants…
Mesa County judge wrongly ordered murder defendant to pay $3,600 for DNA testing, says appeals court

Dec 2, 2024

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Michael Karlik

A Mesa County judge improperly ordered a defendant to pay nearly $3,600 for DNA testing in his homicide prosecution without a legal basis for doing so, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last month. Richard Alan VanderVelde pleaded guilty in 2023 to second-degree murder and related offenses after killing his mother, Sylvia Frens, in 2018. Although VanderVelde was…
Appeals court finds flaws with restitution orders in 2 criminal cases

Oct 29, 2024

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Michael Karlik

Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned multiple orders, in whole or in part, for criminal defendants to pay financial restitution to their victims. In the first case out of Arapahoe County, Aron Sanchez was charged for two sets of crimes. He was accused of breaking into a vehicle to steal a stereo, after which his…