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Defendants acquitted by insanity are eligible for records-sealing, appeals court says
Colorado’s second-highest court clarified last month that defendants who are found not guilty by reason of insanity are eligible to have their criminal records sealed from public view. Judges must seal criminal records if, among other things, a defendant is “acquitted of all counts” in a case. The question for the Court of Appeals was…
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Pueblo County judge wrongly incarcerated man awaiting sanity evaluation, Supreme Court rules
A Pueblo County judge incorrectly believed he had to put a defendant in jail until medical professionals could evaluate the man’s sanity, the Colorado Supreme Court concluded last week in ordering the release of Mario Arellano from incarceration. In November, Arellano drove his car into the food court of the Pueblo Mall and claimed he had planted…
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Colorado justices signal intervention in 4 ongoing cases, including jury trials for evictions and Ouray rape prosecution
The Colorado Supreme Court recently signaled it may intervene in four ongoing cases in the trial courts on subjects that include a tenant’s right to a jury trial in eviction proceedings, whether defendants should remain incarcerated pending a sanity evaluation and a judge’s decision to sanction prosecutors for late-disclosed evidence. Although most of the Supreme…
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Rights of mentally ill defendants under scrutiny of state Supreme Court
A combination of factors made the case of Ari Misha Liggett unusual, including the crime for which he was convicted: poisoning and dismembering his mother in October 2012. But Liggett is now trying to convince the Colorado Supreme Court the criminal prosecution against him has broader implications for whether mentally ill defendants have a right…