scotus
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Municipal camping bans do not violate Colorado Constitution, says appeals court
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Municipal ordinances that ban people from living on public property do not violate the Colorado Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, the state’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. A three-judge Court of Appeals panel agreed that it was appropriate to rely on the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Eighth Amendment, which Colorado courts…
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SCOTUS decision on ‘3 strikes’ sentences does not benefit defendants with older convictions, appeals court says
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A recent U.S. Supreme Court decision affecting how defendants are sentenced under Colorado’s “three strikes” law does not benefit people whose convictions have long been final, the state’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. For many years, Colorado’s Habitual Criminal Act required judges to impose three or four times the maximum sentence if a defendant was convicted of…
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SCOTUS arguments, varied workload: 6 Colorado solicitors general talk about job
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Six current and former solicitors general of Colorado, including two who have since become members of the bench, spoke to attorneys on Wednesday about how the role has changed over time, what the workload entails, and their experiences arguing at the U.S. Supreme Court. “It is an incredible amount of time that you put in…
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Aurora not liable for suspended officer’s attack on woman, federal court rules
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The Denver-based federal appeals court decided on Monday that the city of Aurora cannot be held liable for an officer’s attack on a woman while he was serving a suspension for shooting a different person. Wyoma Martinez filed suit against Officer Douglas Harroun and the city after Harroun used force against Martinez at her apartment…
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Lifetime sex offender registration not ‘punishment,’ Colorado justices say
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The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday that lifetime sex offender registration is not cruel and unusual punishment because it is not “punishment.” At the same time, two members urged lawmakers to heed the advice of the Sex Offender Management Board and adopt a new, more accurate system of measuring a person’s risk of recidivism.…
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Colorado Supreme Court oral arguments, chief appeals judge to retire | COURT CRAWL
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Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. The state Supreme Court held oral arguments in multiple cases and traveled to the Eastern Plains to visit with students, plus the chief judge of the Court of Appeals is retiring. Supreme Court news • The Colorado Supreme Court decided a…
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10th Circuit orders second look at challenge to Colorado ‘ghost gun’ law
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The Denver-based federal appeals court issued a mixed decision on Thursday, finding that a group of plaintiffs could not challenge certain aspects of Colorado’s “ghost gun” prohibition, could challenge others, and ordered further analysis of the law’s constitutionality. To address the proliferation of guns privately assembled from kits or 3-D printers, the General Assembly enacted Senate Bill 279 three…
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Divided 10th Circuit takes no issue with surprise police encounter with suspect
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Police officers who unexpectedly encountered a Durango-area man while they were preparing to search his nearby home did not commit a constitutional violation by seizing his phone during the ensuing traffic stop, the Denver-based federal appeals court ruled last week. Kalub Sean Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography and received a…
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U.S. Supreme Court will hear challenge from Colorado Catholic preschools on state funding exclusion
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will hear from Catholic preschools that say Colorado violated their religious rights by excluding them from a state-funded “universal” pre-kindergarten program over their admission policies. The court agreed on Monday to take up the appeal from St. Mary Catholic Parish in its challenge against a state program. That challenge…
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Colorado Supreme Court appears OK with revised ‘reasonable doubt’ instruction
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The Colorado Supreme Court appeared largely comfortable on Thursday with the recently revised definition of “reasonable doubt” that is now part of the template jury instructions for criminal cases. To date, multiple Court of Appeals decisions have endorsed the constitutionality of the new phrasing, which resembles the instruction given in Colorado’s federal trial court. U.S.…