search and seizure
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Judge sanctions woman suing Colorado Springs police, finds she withheld evidence
A federal judge last week authorized financial sanctions against a woman and her lawyers who are suing Colorado Springs police for a constitutional violation, finding she disobeyed court orders and failed to hand over evidence to the defense. Sasha Cronick is pursuing claims of unreasonable search and seizure and false arrest against the officers who…
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10th Circuit finds no constitutional violation from warrantless arrest in man’s front yard
The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed on Wednesday that Greeley police did not violate the U.S. Constitution by walking onto a man’s front yard and pulling him out of his vehicle for a traffic infraction without a warrant. The Fourth Amendment generally requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant before conducting searches and…
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Colorado Supreme Court examines reasonableness of DPS search of student on ‘safety plan’
The Colorado Supreme Court considered this week what constitutional safeguards are necessary when school officials place students on “safety plans” that call for routine searches, even when there is no reasonable suspicion of an offense. The case may be the first in the country scrutinizing student safety plans, and balancing the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on…
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Appeals court overturns Jeffco organized crime convictions, upholds pole camera surveillance
Colorado’s second-highest court earlier this month overturned a string of organized crime and money laundering convictions out of Jefferson County due to prosecutors’ failure to present sufficient evidence proving the offenses. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals applied recent Colorado Supreme Court precedent to conclude a criminal “enterprise” must have its own structure…
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Colorado justices ponder dismissal of Jeffco criminal appeal during oral arguments
Following her convictions for felony menacing and child abuse, news reports surfaced describing Adrienne Marie Stone’s history of threatening neighbors, endangering her kids and maintaining an unsanitary “hoarder” household. But on Tuesday, the mess that members of the Colorado Supreme Court were concerned about was the unclear sequence of events underlying Stone’s prosecution. In an…
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10th Circuit agrees Colorado trooper committed constitutional violation in I-70 vehicle search
The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed on Monday that a state trooper lacked reasonable suspicion to investigate a motorist for drug trafficking – based on little more than the driver’s messy vehicle, plans to visit a religious center and being “overly cooperative.” Although Trooper Shane Gosnell ended up being correct that Luis Alfonso Leon…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear 2 criminal cases, school district dispute
The Colorado Supreme Court announced this week that it will hear a pair of criminal appeals questioning whether a murder suspect was in custody at the time of her interrogation, and whether police acted constitutionally when they executed an Internet-based search warrant. At least three of the court’s seven members must consent to review a…
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Greeley officer postpones request for immunity in illegal detention suit after judge expresses doubts
The lawyer for a Greeley police officer backed down from his plans to ask for qualified immunity on Thursday, after a federal judge suggested the request to end the illegal detention lawsuit was premature. Officer Kody Brunnemer faces allegations that he violated the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches and seizures when he detained, then…
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10th Circuit grants immunity to Douglas County deputies who entered home over man’s objection, used force
Douglas County sheriff’s deputies cannot be held liable for entering a man’s home without a warrant, over his objection, and forcibly arresting him on suspicion of domestic violence, the federal appeals court based in Denver ruled last month. Bryce Watkins sued three deputies for violating his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures by…
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Colorado Supreme Court rules prosecutors entitled to drunk driving suspect’s medical records
Because a woman accused of driving drunk planned to argue that any intoxication she experienced was involuntary, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed on Monday that Arapahoe County prosecutors are entitled to see her post-accident medical records. Noelle Dawn Kelley appealed directly to the state’s highest court after a trial judge ruled Kelley had “injected her…