self-incrimination
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In rare do-over, appeals court changes reasons for ordering new Denver assault trial
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In an unusual move, Colorado’s second-highest court last month withdrew its opinion ordering a new trial for a man convicted of assault, then issued a new decision with heavily modified reasoning. Originally, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals overturned Amos Rogers’ criminal convictions and 64-year sentence in October. It reasoned a Denver trial…
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Arapahoe County murder conviction overturned due to prosecutor misconduct
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A teenager convicted of murder will receive a new trial after Colorado’s second-highest court determined on Thursday that Arapahoe County prosecutors inappropriately used the defendant’s constitutional right to silence as evidence of his guilt. Jurors convicted Marquez Woodruff in 2019 of fatally shooting Terry Capler in the latter’s Aurora home. Woodruff, who was 16 at the time…
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Denver judge wrongly barred witness testimony, appeals court rules in reversing 64-year sentence
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A Denver judge incorrectly blocked a key witness from testifying at a man’s trial, prompting Colorado’s second-highest court to overturn the defendant’s convictions and 64-year prison sentence last week. Jurors convicted Amos Rogers in 2020 of assaulting a police officer, drug possession and carrying a prohibited large-capacity gun magazine, among other offenses. Rogers did not…
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Colorado Supreme Court, 4-3, finds Thornton detectives coerced murder suspect into talking
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Two Thornton detectives made multiple misleading statements to a murder suspect before asking him to give up his Miranda rights, effectively coercing the man into talking, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. Detectives repeatedly reassured Thorvyn Bullcalf Evan Smiley he would leave the interrogation room a free person and was “not in trouble.” They…
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Colorado appeals court reverses assault conviction due to Denver prosecutor’s misconduct
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday reversed a woman’s assault conviction and nine-year prison sentence because a Denver prosecutor improperly commented upon Cristina Rogers’ constitutional right not to testify. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals explained that even indirect statements about a defendant exercising their right against self-incrimination can trigger reversal if the prosecution…
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Appeals court clarifies Fifth Amendment rights of sex offense probationers
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Colorado’s second-highest court clarified last week that if a defendant on sex-offender probation refuses to accept responsibility for his crime as a condition of treatment, the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination may prohibit a judge from revoking his probation as a punishment. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals specified that its decision applied…
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‘This is how innocent people are convicted,’ defendant alleges wrongful conviction to Supreme Court
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When police arrested Nora Hilda Rios-Vargas for the burglary of a Weld County trailer home where someone had stolen $15,000 in jewelry and $3,000 in coins, there was only one definitive piece of evidence linking her to the crime scene: shards of a bloody latex glove with her DNA on it. At the same time,…
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Fremont County detectives failed to honor Miranda rights, prompting appeals court to reverse conviction
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A Cañon City man serving 32 years in prison for the attempted murder of his wife will receive a new trial after the state’s second-highest court concluded detectives failed to honor his constitutional right against self-incrimination when interrogating him. Steven Todd Whitt appealed his convictions, arguing the trial court judge should have suppressed the video of…
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Appeals court orders new trial after detective failed to respect Eagle County man’s Miranda rights
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An Eagle County judge mistakenly allowed a man’s statements in custody to be admitted as evidence at trial, even though the detective interrogating Jacinto Zelaya-Zelaya ignored his desire to remain silent, the state’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. Zelaya-Zelaya, who a jury convicted in 2017 of sexually assaulting a child, will now receive a new…
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Jeffco prosecutor crossed line, appeals court finds in reversing sex abuse conviction
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A Jefferson County prosecutor, speaking to the jury, improperly and repeatedly used a defendant’s silence in a police-recorded phone call against him, the Court of Appeals decided last week in ordering a new trial. Although the Fifth Amendment prohibits prosecutors from drawing conclusions about a defendant’s guilt if he exercises his right to remain silent,…
