self-representation
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Appeals court overturns convictions of mentally ill man who represented himself
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An Arapahoe County judge improperly allowed a mentally ill man to represent himself at trial, stating explicitly that the defendant was “making no sense whatsoever” before letting him proceed alone, Colorado’s second highest court ruled in ordering a new trial. Then-District Court Judge Michael Spear attempted to convince David Antonio Ruffin that he would be…
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Appeals court tosses conviction, 32-year sentence after trial judge violated speedy trial right
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Colorado’s second-highest court has overturned a man’s convictions for attempted murder and other offenses, and permanently barred prosecutors from retrying him because a Denver judge violated his right to a speedy trial. The U.S. and Colorado constitutions guarantee criminal defendants the right to a speedy trial, which Colorado law mandates to occur within six months…
