montezuma county
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Panel member ejected from one judge’s discipline case, as second judge challenges protocols in his proceeding
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One member of a panel adjudicating the misconduct allegations against a county court judge has been replaced due to her alleged non-responsiveness, at the same time a different county court judge is objecting to the intended protocols in his own disciplinary case. Following voters’ passage of constitutional Amendment H in November 2024, adjudication of serious…
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Montezuma County judge says ‘imperfect decisions’ do not justify disciplinary authorities’ ‘overreach’
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A Montezuma County judge responded on Monday to the allegations of misconduct against him, arguing any poor decisions he may have made did not justify his removal from office and further insisting he did not lie to disciplinary officials. In early September, the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline accused County Court Judge Ian J. MacLaren…
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Montezuma County judge faces disciplinary proceedings for ‘lying,’ handling of criminal case
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Judicial discipline authorities are seeking the censure and removal of Montezuma County Court Judge Ian J. MacLaren, who allegedly committed misconduct in his handling of a criminal case, made false statements to investigators about his actions, and attempted to use his status to get favorable treatment for his own civil infraction. The Colorado Commission on…
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Federal judge green-lights some claims for trial in death of Montezuma County jail detainee
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A federal judge on Friday ended some claims and permitted others to proceed to a jury trial over the 2021 death of a severely intoxicated man in the Montezuma County jail. Surviving family members of Kelroy Newman filed suit against the county, its elected sheriff, a deputy, the hospital where Newman was seen and his…
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Montezuma County man’s drug conviction overturned because prosecution presented skewed narrative
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Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned a Montezuma County man’s drug conviction after concluding a judge allowed the prosecution to present a misleading version of what happened during the defendant’s arrest. At the 2022 trial of Ramon Alberto Dejesus III, jurors saw a series of largely muted videos depicting Dejesus’ arrest and booking into jail. At…
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After rejection by Colorado Supreme Court, federal judge also tosses oil, gas owners’ taxation challenge
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A federal judge last month dismissed a lawsuit from a collection of mineral rights owners in Montezuma County, following the Colorado Supreme Court’s conclusion last year that they lacked standing to challenge roughly $500,000 in taxes owed. The long-running dispute centers on the McElmo Dome Unit in southwestern Colorado. Operator Kinder Morgan extracts the carbon…
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Federal judge dismisses negligence claim against hospital in death of Montezuma County jail detainee
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A hospital in Cortez cannot itself be liable for negligence in the death of a Montezuma County jail detainee, a federal judge ruled last month. Kelroy Newman arrived at the jail on July 17, 2021 with a blood alcohol concentration five times the legal limit, 0.421, and injuries to his head. Police took him to Southwest…
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Federal judge dismisses negligence claim against hospital in death of Montezuma County jail detainee
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A hospital in Cortez cannot itself be liable for negligence in the death of a Montezuma County jail detainee, a federal judge ruled last month. Kelroy Newman arrived at the jail on July 17, 2021 with a blood alcohol concentration five times the legal limit, 0.421, and injuries to his head. Police took him to Southwest…
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State Supreme Court rebuffs challenge to oil, gas taxation in Montezuma County
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned an appellate court decision that would have enhanced the ability of individual oil and gas owners to challenge their property tax bills, and would have also increased the administrative workload for counties in extraction-rich areas of the state. The justices clarified that the legislature intended to create a “representative”…
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Oil, gas tax law under consideration by Colorado Supreme Court
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The Colorado Supreme Court stepped in this week to clarify whether the owners of a Montezuma County oil and gas formation have the opportunity to challenge a retroactive $2 million increase to their collective property tax bill. The underlying sequence of events already made its way to the justices once in 2017, when the court…
