parental rights
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Appeals court finds Denver judge terminated man’s parental rights based on faulty reasoning
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday determined the evidence did not support a Denver judge’s ruling terminating the legal relationship between a father and his child. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel identified numerous instances where the facts contradicted the trial judge’s findings that the father lacked stable housing and was unable to be “a full-time…
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10th Circuit considers whether parents can pursue relief from Colorado ‘chosen name’ law, policies
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Some members of the Denver-based federal appeals court on Tuesday appeared skeptical of an attempt by two parents to block a Colorado law requiring public schools to use a student’s chosen name, as well as their school district’s corresponding policy intended to support LGBTQ students. At the same time, one judge’s questioning seemed sympathetic to…
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Federal judge dismisses challenge to Jeffco overnight field trip policy’s reliance on gender identity
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A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a constitutional challenge to the overnight field trip policy of Jeffco Public Schools, filed by multiple families who objected to rooming assignments based on students’ gender identities as opposed to their sex assigned at birth. U.S. District Court Judge Regina M. Rodriguez concluded the 14th Amendment’s protection of a…
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Appeals court clarifies defendant need not prove relationship with own children to modify restraining order
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Colorado’s second-highest court clarified on Thursday that a defendant did not need to demonstrate the nature of his relationship with his biological children in order to argue that a no-contact order infringed on his constitutional rights. Last year, the Colorado Supreme Court issued a decision in Salah v. People, addressing what should happen when a convicted sex offender…
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Appeals court finds Denver judge relied on unsupported facts to restrict man’s parenting time
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last week that a Denver judge made “clearly erroneous” findings about a father’s sobriety and his request for parenting time when she imposed strict conditions on visitations with his children. Following a virtual April 2024 hearing in which both parents were without a lawyer, then-District Court Judge Jennifer Torrington issued an…
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Appeals court finds judge did not punish man for religious beliefs when giving ex-wife parenting authority
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Colorado’s second-highest court last month rejected a man’s claim that a Larimer County judge unconstitutionally penalized him for expressing religious beliefs critical of homosexuality when she awarded parental decision-making to his ex-wife. District Court Judge Laurie K. Dean gave Brandon Ribble’s ex-wife broad decision-making responsibility for the couple’s children as a result of their divorce.…
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Appeals court clarifies standards for no-contact orders involving children
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Colorado’s second-highest court clarified last month that judges need to account for certain factors when deciding whether to loosen a defendant’s no-contact order against a child, and an El Paso County judge did not consider the proper criteria when refusing to modify the restrictions. Under state law, judges impose protection orders, also known as restraining…
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State Supreme Court takes up 2 drunk driving appeals, case about campus sexual misconduct
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review three appeals that implicate the state’s drunk driving laws and the legal obligation of universities to conduct fair investigations into alleged sexual misconduct. At least three of the court’s seven members must consent to review a case. One appeal raises yet another angle in the long-running fallout…
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Judge wrong to terminate mom’s parental rights without her or her lawyer present, appeals court says
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The state’s Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed an Adams County judge who terminated a mother’s parental rights at a hearing in which neither she nor her attorney was present. A woman identified as J.L.S. gave birth to a child and within a week, Adams County initiated child welfare proceedings. The government then moved to…
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Arapahoe County judge was wrong to condition parents’ visits with child on drug tests: Appeals court
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An Arapahoe County judge had no apparent legal basis to require two parents to submit to sobriety tests as a condition for visiting their child, Colorado’s second-highest court determined last week. Former District Court Judge Natalie T. Chase declined to permit a mother and father to resume in-person visits with a child identified as A.P.…
