michael berger
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Judges’ faulty instructions prompt appeals court to reverse convictions in 3 cases
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Colorado’s second-highest court reversed convictions in three separate cases last month after the trial judges’ faulty instructions to jurors improperly lowered the burden of proof needed to secure a guilty verdict. In each instance, the Court of Appeals determined the defendants’ juries were unable to consider key parts of their defense to the criminal charges,…
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Appeals court pushes back against racial bias in jury selection
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Colorado’s second-highest court laid down new rules on Thursday to discourage the exclusion of people of color from juries for reasons that, while not explicitly racial, are nevertheless correlated with race. Two separate panels of the state’s Court of Appeals issued rulings that, in part, forbid the dismissal of Black jurors solely because they reveal…
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‘Indian child’ welfare cases continue to surface at state Supreme Court, appeals court
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The question of when juvenile court judges have “reason to know” they are dealing with an American Indian child, thereby triggering longstanding protections for tribal nations, continues to surface in Colorado’s appellate courts. This week, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed to hear a case on the subject, two months after holding oral arguments in a…
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Appeals court warns police to use lights and sirens or lose immunity for crashes
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The town of Olathe and one of its officers can be held liable for the collision deaths of two men in 2018, stemming from the officer’s failure to use his lights and sirens for the majority of his high-speed pursuit. In reversing a lower court judge’s decision to dismiss the civil lawsuit against Olathe, a…
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Appeals court orders new trial after discovery that judge previously represented defendant
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The revelation that a Saguache County judge presided over a man’s trial despite representing him briefly as a public defender before her appointment prompted the state’s second-highest court to overturn the conviction and order a new trial on Thursday. By 2-1, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals believed Donald L. Garcia had not…
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Appeals court orders frozen embryos be turned over for destruction in case implicating religion
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The state’s second-highest court ordered a divorced couple’s frozen embryos be turned over to the husband for destruction, finding an El Paso County judge disobeyed both the Colorado Supreme Court and Court of Appeals’ instructions for resolving disputes over fertilized eggs. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals on Thursday issued its second decision…
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Appeals court allows expelled DU student to sue over allegedly unfair sexual misconduct inquiry
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A male student who the University of Denver expelled for sexual misconduct may sue the school for its alleged failure to conduct a fair and impartial investigation, the state’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. “John Doe,” as the student is identified in court documents, claimed that DU investigators refused to interview his witnesses, did not…
