search and seizure
-
10th Circuit finds Denver officers unconstitutionally searched man
—
by
The Colorado-based federal appeals court concluded last week that Denver officers lacked reasonable suspicion when they detained a group of people who happened to park on a public street near a vehicle used by a shooter 12 hours prior and several miles away. Prosecutors indicted one member of the group, Noah Huerta, for being a…
-
Divided appeals court upholds convictions despite ‘troubling and unfair’ contradictory police testimony
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court upheld a man’s convictions for unlawful possession of a firearm on Thursday, even as the majority acknowledged it was potentially unfair that a Denver officer testified to a different sequence of events at trial than earlier in the case. Matthew Torres attempted to exclude from trial the evidence of a handgun in…
-
Appeals court finds Wheat Ridge officer lacked probable cause to arrest defendant
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday concluded a Wheat Ridge officer lacked probable cause to arrest a man because the information suggesting criminal activity was too minimal to act upon. Corporal Jeremy Schmitz was patrolling a truck stop off of Interstate 70 when he encountered a Toyota 4Runner that a database identified as stolen. The vehicle…
-
Appeals court overturns Adams County drug convictions due to unconstitutional police conduct
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a man’s drug convictions and 25-year prison sentence on Thursday after concluding two Northglenn police officers unconstitutionally transformed a traffic stop into a drug investigation without reasonable suspicion of a crime. Clifton E. McRae, who was originally stopped for making an illegal turn, repeatedly declined to consent to a search of…
-
Appeals court overturns carjacking-related convictions after evidence error
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court overturned some of a defendant’s carjacking-related convictions on Thursday, finding Arapahoe County prosecutors failed to establish that his text messages apparently confessing to the crime were admissible as evidence. The three-judge Court of Appeals panel also concluded the search warrant used to obtain information from T-Mobile was unconstitutionally broad, with some judges…
-
Federal judge bars evidence from pat-down, finds Sterling officer had no grounds to search motorist
—
by
A federal judge barred evidence from a pat-down search from being used against a defendant on Monday, concluding a Sterling police officer violated the man’s rights by searching him without a legal basis. Federal prosecutors indicted Jorge Sigala-Baray for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Police discovered the gun on Sigala-Baray after pulling him over for…
-
Divided Colorado Supreme Court upholds police’s pat-down of man in ‘wrong place at the wrong time’
—
by
The Colorado Supreme Court decided on Tuesday that police had not unlawfully seized a man when they patted him down in a chance encounter after he suddenly appeared outside the motel room where they were preparing to make an arrest. By 5-2, the justices believed Oscar Jonas Ganaway consented to the pat-down search, which resulted in…
-
Colorado justices rule trunk search constitutional in Arapahoe County shooting case
—
by
The Colorado Supreme Court reversed an Arapahoe County judge on Monday who found law enforcement conducted an unconstitutional search of a man’s trunk, with the justices instead concluding police had grounds to believe a recently fired gun was inside. Prosecutors have charged Sheron Mario Furness with seven criminal counts related to drug and weapon possession,…
-
10th Circuit rules Denver police acted constitutionally by taking bullet removed from man
—
by
Denver police did not violate the constitutional prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures by obtaining a bullet, without a warrant, that was removed from a man’s leg and later used as evidence against him, the Colorado-based federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday. Law enforcement responded to an office building in the Cherry Creek neighborhood where…
-
Lakewood police acted unconstitutionally in using drug detection dog, Supreme Court rules by 5-2
—
by
Lakewood police violated the constitutional prohibition on unreasonable searches by ensuring a driver’s door remained open so a drug detection dog could sniff inside the vehicle without probable cause, the Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday. In the 5-2 decision, all justices agreed with the principle that law enforcement conducts a search if they “facilitate”…
