narcotics
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Colorado appeals court issues rulings on drug money, Pueblo councilman’s vandalism
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday decided a pair of cases involving financial restitution to crime victims, finding defendants are not obligated to repay police departments for money used in drug purchases and also upholding a Pueblo council member’s duty to pay $3,800 for his vandalism. Under Colorado law, most convictions require judges to consider whether…
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Appeals court overturns Jeffco drug conviction for detective’s improper testimony
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Colorado’s second-highest court determined last month that a detective’s expert testimony claiming the defendant had a “classic case” of possessing drugs with an intent to distribute amounted to a fundamental error that required reversing the conviction. State and federal courts have delineated when an expert’s testimony is improper at trial, including when an expert opines…
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State Supreme Court rules officers had more than ‘hunch’ to detain suspected drug distributor
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Officers who conducted extended surveillance of a suspected drug distributor in Larimer County had reasonable suspicion to detain and search him, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday, reversing a trial court judge who believed police were operating solely on a “hunch.” District Court Judge Stephen J. Jouard agreed last year to suppress drug evidence…
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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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Hemp producer cannot sue for confiscation of plants at DIA, federal judge rules
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Congress has not given a Texas hemp producer the ability to sue the Denver Police Department for confiscating 32 of his plants at Denver International Airport earlier this year, a federal judge determined in dismissing the lawsuit. Francisco Serna, a resident of Austin, said the seized plants cost him under $200, but would have been…
