richard gabriel
-
By 5-2, state Supreme Court green-lights investors’ lawsuit against Denver energy company
—
by
In a divided ruling on Monday, the Colorado Supreme Court permitted a pension plan for law enforcement to sue a Denver-based oil and gas company for allegedly misleading investors in violation of a Depression-era law designed to prevent fraud. The question for the state’s highest court was whether Jagged Peak Energy Inc. would be held…
-
Oil, gas tax law under consideration by Colorado Supreme Court
—
by
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…
-
‘Once-in-a-lifetime experience’: Supreme Court, students engage at Colorado Springs school
—
by
It took social studies teacher Ty Allen several years to bring the Colorado Supreme Court to his high school in Colorado Springs, but Allen’s efforts paid off on Thursday when the state’s seven justices appeared before an auditorium of Pine Creek High School students and staff. “I’ve been reaching out to them every couple of…
-
State Supreme Court hears cases on sleeping juror, ‘straw purchase’ law
—
by
The Colorado Supreme Court traveled to Colorado Springs to hear two cases on Thursday, exploring whether a sleeping juror implicated a defendant’s constitutional right to a jury of 12, and whether there was sufficient evidence to convict a woman for violating the state law that prohibits “straw purchases” of firearms. Oral arguments at Pine Creek…
-
State Supreme Court mulls whether right to counsel differs by defendants’ wealth
—
by
The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Sixth Amendment to guarantee criminal defendants the right to effective assistance from an attorney and the right to hire the counsel of their choosing if they can afford it. Indigent defendants, by contrast, currently have no right to choose which lawyer is appointed for them. But now, Colorado’s…
-
State Supreme Court reverses judge who ordered entire DA’s office off of murder case
—
by
By a 6-1 decision on Monday, the Colorado Supreme Court reversed a Gunnison County judge who took the extraordinary step of barring the entire district attorney’s office from prosecuting a murder case. Chief Judge J. Steven Patrick in June granted the request of defendant Jorge Solis to remove the Seventh Judicial District Attorney’s Office from…
-
State Supreme Court rules judge properly barred defendant’s wife from courtroom
—
by
Even though an Arapahoe County judge made no mention of longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent on courtroom closures when he decided to exclude a defendant’s wife from the majority of her husband’s criminal trial, Colorado’s highest court has decided, 6-1, the banishment was nevertheless proper. The Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants a public trial, and…
-
When is a mayor not a mayor? Supreme Court ponders term limits amendment
—
by
Nearly three decades after Colorado voters enacted term limits for local officeholders, the state Supreme Court is debating whether the law is so strict as to prevent Thornton’s first-term mayor from occupying that position. The justices’ interpretation could have repercussions statewide, affecting municipalities whose mayor and city council makeup mirrors that of Thornton. The Colorado…
-
State Supreme Court continues to ponder headaches of DUI ruling
—
by
Colorado’s Supreme Court justices this week once again heard about the difficulties they created by upending prosecutions of felony drunk driving cases nearly two years ago. Although driving under the influence in Colorado is typically a misdemeanor, the legislature in 2015 established a felony DUI offense for people who have at least three prior drunk…
-
Technical difficulties, constitutional rights at center of Colorado Supreme Court parental case
—
by
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared leery on Tuesday of concluding a father experienced a violation of his constitutional rights when a Jefferson County judge terminated the legal relationship with his child. There was no dispute that the man, identified as R.B., had notice of the hearing and a lawyer who advocated on his…
