michael hegarty
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Judge says man cannot sue Larimer County, caseworker for inclusion in child abuse database
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Even though Larimer County’s own description of the incident showed Mark Howshar played no role in the alleged May 2021 abuse of a child, a federal judge last month decided Howshar could not sue the county or one of its caseworkers for placing him into the state’s child abuse database. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael E.…
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Constitution does not require thorough police investigation into theft, judge rules
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Pointing to longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent that people are not entitled to the government’s protection from non-government actors, a federal judge dismissed a man’s claim that Lafayette police officers violated his constitutional rights by failing to adequately investigate the theft of his backpack. Ame Raphael Gilles Senawo alleged that when someone stole his backpack…
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Judge tosses federal employee’s lawsuit against Biden for COVID-19 vaccine mandate
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A judge has dismissed a lawsuit from a federal employee that challenged the constitutionality of President Joe Biden’s executive order mandating vaccination against COVID-19 for federal workers. Although Brian Brass of Jefferson County characterized the vaccination requirement as enslavement and “rape,” U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte Sweeney last month followed the lead of other federal…
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10th Circuit mulls whether to recognize right of hemp producers to sue for plant confiscation
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One day after Francisco Serna passed through Denver International Airport, he filed a lawsuit in federal court with a three-sentence description of what happened when he attempted to carry his hemp plants through security. “I was travelling with 32 plant clones or rooted clippings compliantly produced under Subtitle G of 2018 Farm Bill Act,” Serna…
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Animal rights group continues legal quest in Colorado to ID elephant importer
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An animal advocacy organization that has been trying for four years to obtain the identities of those who import African elephant parts and trophies failed on Wednesday to convince the lone holdout company to drop its insistence on anonymity. Friends of Animals, which is based in Connecticut and has its western law office in Centennial,…
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Judge grants immunity to officers who killed, wounded vehicle occupants in car chase
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A late-night vehicle pursuit through Littleton, Englewood and Denver that left a driver partially paralyzed and a passenger dead has now culminated in a federal judge’s decision to grant immunity to the police officers involved. There was no caselaw, Rodriguez concluded, labeling the officers’ use of force unconstitutional “in the context of a car chase…
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10th Circuit reinstates race discrimination lawsuit over ‘crazy brown man’ comment
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Whether a Hispanic insurance agent in Greeley had his contract terminated because he was perceived as a “crazy brown man running around with a gun” will now be a question for a jury to decide, as the federal appeals court based in Denver has reinstated the racial discrimination lawsuit. A trial judge last year sided…
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Judge dismisses part of Boston Marathon bomber’s lawsuit challenging prison restrictions
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A federal judge has dismissed some of the First Amendment claims brought by Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man convicted of killing four people in connection with the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and who is now challenging his prison restrictions in Colorado. Tsarnaev, who is facing a death sentence, is currently at the United States Penitentiary – Administrative…
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Federal judge tosses sprawling workplace retaliation lawsuit involving CU science program
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A federal judge has dismissed on procedural grounds a lawsuit from one University of Colorado scientist that alleged whistleblower retaliation and harassment within a prominent environmental science program, as well as more serious accusations of potential espionage and bribery. Justin J.E. Mabie works as a research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences,…
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Federal judge considers ‘misleading’ prison explanation of Boston bomber’s restrictions
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A federal judge on Wednesday questioned a Federal Bureau of Prisons official about the accuracy of the bureau’s response to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the man sentenced to death for killing four people in April 2013 in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing, and who is now challenging his prison conditions. Tsarnaev, who is incarcerated at the United States…
