sixth amendment
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Colorado appeals court orders El Paso County judge to reopen case of man serving 100+ years
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Colorado’s second-highest court last week ordered an El Paso County judge to hold a hearing on an incarcerated man’s claim that he received constitutionally-ineffective assistance of counsel, based on his trial lawyer’s decision not to call multiple witnesses who would have corroborated the defendant’s alibi. Antonio Jose Vargas Jr. is serving a 96-year sentence for…
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Colorado Supreme Court rules poor defendants have no right to keep assigned lawyer
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There is no constitutional right for indigent criminal defendants to go to trial with their preferred public defender, even though defendants who are wealthy enough to hire an attorney do enjoy that ability, a majority of the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. In a pair of 6-1 decisions, the Supreme Court determined that poor…
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Government’s 23-month delay not a reason to dismiss criminal case, 10th Circuit rules
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Even though the government waited 23 months after indicting a defendant to resume its prosecution, a trial judge was wrong to conclude the delay violated the man’s constitutional right to a speedy trial, the federal appeals court based in Denver ruled last week. U.S. District Court Senior Judge Christine M. Arguello derided the indictment of…
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State Supreme Court mulls whether right to counsel differs by defendants’ wealth
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The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the Sixth Amendment to guarantee criminal defendants the right to effective assistance from an attorney and the right to hire the counsel of their choosing if they can afford it. Indigent defendants, by contrast, currently have no right to choose which lawyer is appointed for them. But now, Colorado’s…
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Appeals court finds no constitutional violation after judge told public to leave courtroom
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Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that an Arapahoe County judge did not violate the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of a public trial when he ordered the one observer to a criminal proceeding out of his courtroom during jury selection. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals emphasized its findings in the case of Terance…
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Appeals court finds El Paso judge misunderstood law, orders case reinstated
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An El Paso County judge failed to follow the law when she preemptively dismissed a low-level drug case during the COVID-19 pandemic, the state’s Court of Appeals has determined. Although former District Court Judge Deborah J. Grohs was convinced the ongoing public health emergency and ensuing backlog of jury trials meant defendant Marckus Antonio Maxwell…
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Appeals court finds Arapahoe judge mistakenly allowed man to represent self at trial
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Colorado’s second-highest court has determined an Arapahoe County judge wrongfully found a defendant had waived his constitutional right to an attorney when she failed to establish Jahmal Ali Price understood the consequences of proceeding to trial without legal representation. Although the Sixth Amendment guarantees criminal defendants the right to counsel, it is possible for defendants…
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Federal judge dismisses charges in long-running case, faulting government, self for delay
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A federal judge has admitted that he and the prosecution were at fault for violating the speedy trial rights of a defendant by failing to bring her to trial in time, and has consequently dismissed the charges against her. U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martínez did not dispute the calculations of Mykhael Kuciapinski, who determined her…
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State Supreme Court examines whether exclusion of wife from courtroom violated defendants’ rights
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Christopher Nicholas Cruse and Terrel Shameek Turner stood trial together in Arapahoe County in 2017 for the robbery of a marijuana dispensary where Cruse worked. On the third morning of the jury trial, the prosecution informed the trial judge that Cruse’s wife was arrested the prior day for “an encounter” in the hallway with one…
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Justices say Adams County prosecutor’s comments do not require reversal of convictions
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Although the Colorado Supreme Court has established that prosecutors cannot imply criminal defendants are guilty for exercising their Fifth Amendment right to silence or their Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial, the justices on Tuesday decided an Adams County prosecutor’s comments to a jury did not cross that threshold. In a case that centered…
