michael dougherty
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Divided appeals court finds no misconduct from Denver prosecutor’s inflammatory argument
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While the Colorado Supreme Court has established that prosecutors may not characterize a witness’s testimony as a “lie,” the state’s second-highest court has decided, by 2-1, a Denver prosecutor did not cross the line by repeatedly using a synonym for “lie.” Jurors convicted Rigoberto E. Fernandez in 2015 for stabbing a man at Montbello Recreation…
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Appeals judge to law enforcement: Be wary of repeated failures to retain evidence
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A judge on the state’s Court of Appeals has sent a stern warning to law enforcement following a series of missteps in Boulder County that resulted in a failure to retain or turn over evidence. Judge Lino S. Lipinsky de Orlov on Thursday authored a concurrence upholding William Robert Eason’s 2021 criminal conviction and finding…
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State prosecutors look to federal distribution law as model for combating fentanyl
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While state law provides prosecutors with the ability to charge for murder, manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide, some district attorneys wish they had another tool to go after those who distribute fentanyl resulting in a person’s death. “Proving that someone distributed a drug with the intent to kill someone else is very hard,” said Brian…
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Colorado criminal justice leaders urge Biden to end federal death penalty
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Several Colorado criminal justice leaders signed a nationwide bipartisan letter Monday, asking President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to immediately take action to end the federal death penalty in the U.S. The letter was signed by nearly 100 leaders, including Colorado’s Attorney General Phil Weiser, District Attorneys Michael Dougherty and Beth McCann, former District Attorney…
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Hancock moves to wipe out thousands of convictions for marijuana possession
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Mayor Michael Hancock said Tuesday that Denver wants to vacate more than 10,000 convictions for low-level marijuana possession in the city that occurred before the drug was made legal in Colorado. “For too long, the lives of low-income residents and those living in our communities of color have been negatively affected by low-level marijuana convictions,”…
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ENDORSEMENT WATCH | Colorado candidates notch support as primary looms
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Politicians and organizations are bestowing last-minute endorsements as candidate scramble to motivate voters in the days before the June 26 primary. Here are some of the Colorado candidate endorsements announced in recent days, including some going to candidates who aren’t in contested primaries and have already won their party’s nomination: ? Former U.S. Sen. Tim…
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Trump nominates new U.S. attorney for Colorado
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President Donald Trump has nominated Jason Dunn to serve as Colorado’s U.S. attorney in a long-anticipated move, the White House announced Wednesday. Dunn is a former deputy state attorney general and assistant solicitor general under former Colorado Attorney General John Suthers (now Colorado Springs’ mayor) and a shareholder at the powerful Denver law firm Brownstein…
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ENDORSEMENT WATCH | Support for candidates piles up as primary ballots drop
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Candidates in the June 26 primary election continue to receive endorsements from politicians and organizations even as ballots arrive in voters’ mailboxes this week and the campaigns near the finish line. Here are some of the Colorado candidate endorsements announced in recent days: ? Citing his “proven record of leadership on our Second Amendment freedoms,”…
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Bill Ritter throws support behind Weiser in Democrats’ attorney general primary
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Democratic state attorney general candidate Phil Weiser has won an endorsement from former Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, his campaign announced Tuesday. Weiser will help lead the state’s fight against climate change, said Ritter, director of Colorado State University’s Center for the New Energy Economy and the man who coined the phrase “new energy economy” while governor. “Phil…
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Rep. Mike Foote to talk gun violence in Boulder Monday night
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Rep. Mike Foote plans have a talk about gun violence Monday night in Boulder. A 14-year deputy prosecutor in Boulder County, the legislator is running for district attorney. He’ll be joined by Boulder Mayor Pro-Tem Aaron Brockett and Helen Kamin of the anti-gun violence advocacy organization Moms Demand Action from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at…
