monica marquez
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Colorado judges face calls for new domestic violence training after survey finds child abuse concerns ignored
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Armed with a survey of parents who lambasted family court judges and magistrates for regularly ignoring signs of child abuse during custody disputes, legislators and court reform advocates are pressing for new domestic violence training mandates and other measures for judges and magistrates. “This document brings to light the voices of Colorado citizens who have…
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Justices critical of proposed racial bias rule supported by defense attorneys, trial judges
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Colorado’s Supreme Court justices gave a less-than-enthusiastic reception on Tuesday to a proposed rule that, if enacted, would aim to curb lawyers’ ability to remove people of color from criminal juries for reasons related to race. During a nearly three-hour hearing, prosecutors from across the state uniformly lined up to condemn the suggested change, with…
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State Supreme Court interprets ‘straw purchase’ law to encompass shared use of guns
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday interpreted a gun safety law enacted after the Columbine High School massacre, ruling for the first time that the illegal transfer of a firearm to a prohibited person can encompass the shared use of a weapon in a household. The court declined to say whether someone can violate the…
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Divided state Supreme Court says juries may hear defendants’ drunk driving histories
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A majority of the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that juries must learn about a defendant’s prior drunk driving offenses at the same time they hear the current allegations of drunk driving, over the strenuous objection of three justices who said the move all but ensures a conviction will occur. By 4-3, the Supreme…
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State Supreme Court explores role of shifting explanations in race-based juror dismissals
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Over 30 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that purposeful racial discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional, requiring prosecutors to now cite a “race-neutral reason” if a defendant challenges their decision to remove a juror of color. This week, the Colorado Supreme Court considered a narrow question implicating that protocol: If an appeals court…
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Appeals court finds no problem with sleeping juror at Arapahoe County trial
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Colorado’s second-highest court last week saw no problem with an Arapahoe County judge’s lack of further inquiry after the defendant’s lawyer claimed she saw a juror sleeping through the defense’s closing arguments. Although Amber A. Threlkel’s lawyer alleged one juror was “sleeping throughout a significant portion of my closing argument” at Threlkel’s 2019 trial, District…
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By 5-2, state Supreme Court green-lights investors’ lawsuit against Denver energy company
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In a divided ruling on Monday, the Colorado Supreme Court permitted a pension plan for law enforcement to sue a Denver-based oil and gas company for allegedly misleading investors in violation of a Depression-era law designed to prevent fraud. The question for the state’s highest court was whether Jagged Peak Energy Inc. would be held…
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‘Once-in-a-lifetime experience’: Supreme Court, students engage at Colorado Springs school
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It took social studies teacher Ty Allen several years to bring the Colorado Supreme Court to his high school in Colorado Springs, but Allen’s efforts paid off on Thursday when the state’s seven justices appeared before an auditorium of Pine Creek High School students and staff. “I’ve been reaching out to them every couple of…
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Divided state Supreme Court says judges cannot review discipline of judicial workers
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In an extraordinary decision pitting one part of the state’s judicial branch against another part, the Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday, by 4-3, that trial judges are not permitted to hear disciplinary appeals involving judicial employees – an option afforded to other government workers. The majority of justices believed the court system’s personnel rules made…
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State Supreme Court continues to ponder headaches of DUI ruling
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Colorado’s Supreme Court justices this week once again heard about the difficulties they created by upending prosecutions of felony drunk driving cases nearly two years ago. Although driving under the influence in Colorado is typically a misdemeanor, the legislature in 2015 established a felony DUI offense for people who have at least three prior drunk…
