mesa county
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Despite trial error, 10th Circuit upholds Mesa County man’s child sex convictions
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Although a trial judge wrongly permitted jurors to see a 9-year-old video of a child victim’s accusations, the federal appeals court based in Denver upheld the sex-related convictions of a Mesa County man last month. Michael Tracy McFadden was originally convicted in state court for sexually assaulting multiple children, including on trips out of state through his…
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10th Circuit reinstates lawsuit against Mesa County deputies for $50,000 in home damage
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The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed a trial judge mistakenly relied on outside materials when he dismissed a lawsuit against several Mesa County sheriff’s personnel who damaged a woman’s home during a SWAT raid. Patricia Cuervo identified 17 sheriff’s employees who allegedly contributed to the unspecified destruction on March 11, 2018. That day, police…
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Mesa County animal cruelty convictions overturned for officer’s unconstitutional search
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Colorado’s second-highest court determined on Thursday that a Mesa County animal control officer gathered evidence of a cruelty offense from a woman’s property in violation of the Fourth Amendment, necessitating a new trial. The constitutional prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures generally requires police to obtain a warrant or else rely on an established exception…
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Appeals court finds numerous errors in 2 Mesa, El Paso County trials but upholds convictions
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Colorado’s second-highest court determined last week that numerous errors, including prosecutorial misconduct, pervaded a pair of criminal trials, but the missteps were not severe enough to warrant reversal of the defendants’ convictions. In El Paso County, jurors convicted Daniel Caleb Schwenk of assault and menacing, but could not reach consensus on an attempted murder charge.…
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Colorado Supreme Court takes up 6 cases on involuntary intoxication, malicious prosecution, child neglect trials
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday it will hear appeals in six cases, including the question of whether a person can claim he knowingly ingested one substance that was secretly laced with another behavior-altering substance as a defense to criminal charges. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to grant an…
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Grand Junction employees ‘out of luck’ in challenging city’s retiree health plan, appeals court rules
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The immunity granted to government entities under state law bars a class action lawsuit against Grand Junction for the city’s alleged malfeasance in administering a health insurance program for retired employees, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. A trial judge previously found no evidence the city denied health benefits to any eligible retiree, but also…
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Protection or overreach? In western Colorado, national monument proposal ignites controversy
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Sean Pond was around a small town of his native western Colorado when he spotted a man in a blue ball cap. Above the bill were the words at the center of an ongoing controversy: “PROTECT THE DOLORES.” Pond approached the man. “He said someone at REI just gave it to him and he liked…
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10th Circuit rejects Tina Peters’ request to halt Mesa County prosecution
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The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed on Friday that former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters had not shown why its intervention was warranted in her pending state-level prosecution related to election equipment tampering. Peters, a Republican who unsuccessfully ran for secretary of state in 2022 and GOP party chair in 2023, is set to face…
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Appeals court reverses first stalking conviction thanks to new SCOTUS requirement
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Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a defendant’s stalking conviction last week for the first time since the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 2023 that prosecutors must prove a defendant had some understanding of the threatening nature of his speech. Last year, by 7-2, the Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Counterman v. Colorado, a case out…