protection order
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10th Circuit dismisses woman’s lawsuit following 10-year attempt to undo restraining order
The Denver-based federal appeals court rejected a woman’s challenge on Friday to a restraining order imposed on her more than a decade ago, finding that she cannot credibly claim she will be prosecuted for violating the restraining order through her First Amendment-protected activity. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit already concluded in…
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10th Circuit dismisses woman’s lawsuit following 10-year attempt to undo restraining order
The Denver-based federal appeals court rejected a woman’s challenge on Friday to a restraining order imposed on her more than a decade ago, finding that she cannot credibly claim she will be prosecuted for violating the restraining order through her First Amendment-protected activity. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit already concluded in…
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Appeals court overturns convictions after judge improperly accepted facts as undisputed
Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a defendant’s convictions and 12-year prison sentence earlier this month after an El Paso County judge did not require prosecutors to prove key facts that were subject to dispute after all. Prosecutors charged Noel Lavertt King Jr. with numerous offenses after he entered the victim’s home and assaulted her. Among the…
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Colorado Supreme Court clarifies restraining order violations can always support burglary charge
The Colorado Supreme Court’s majority ruled on Monday that a violation of a restraining order can also serve as a basis for finding a defendant guilty of burglary. Under state law, a person commits second-degree burglary by unlawfully entering or remaining in an occupied structure with the intent to commit “a crime against another person…
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Appeals court clarifies defendant need not prove relationship with own children to modify restraining order
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 clarifies standards for no-contact orders involving children
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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Douglas County judge wrongly let man represent self at trial, appeals court finds
A Douglas County judge failed to ensure a defendant understood the charges against him and the consequences of proceeding without a lawyer before she allowed him to represent himself at trial, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. Criminal defendants may give up their constitutional right to counsel, but the decision must be voluntary, intelligent and…
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Federal judge dismisses Colorado Springs man’s challenge to 3 state gun laws
A federal judge last week dismissed a Colorado Springs man’s lawsuit that sought to declare multiple gun safety laws unconstitutional in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision expanding gun rights. Delbert Elmer Sgaggio Jr. sued to halt enforcement of Colorado’s law prohibiting those who are subject to protection orders, also known as…
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Gilpin County judge who kicked out defendant’s family committed public trial violation, court finds
A Gilpin County judge who ejected the defendant’s family and other observers from his courtroom and told them to watch the livestream from elsewhere in the courthouse violated the defendant’s constitutional right to a public trial, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week. Michelle Re Nae Bialas was on trial for the second time when some…
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East High School student testifies on gun bills hours after school shooting
Alexander Cisneros spent Wednesday morning in lockdown after one of his classmates at East High School allegedly shot two faculty members. Seven hours later, he spent the evening advocating for gun safety in front of the Colorado legislature. Just before 10 a.m., a 17-year-old student shot and wounded two deans at East High School in Denver during…