supreme court
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303 Creative returns to trial court in wake of SCOTUS ruling on LGBTQ discrimination
After the U.S. Supreme Court decided in June that certain businesses may refuse service to customers notwithstanding states’ anti-discrimination laws, the case that prompted the ruling quietly returned to Colorado’s federal trial court on Tuesday, more than seven years after it began. In 303 Creative v. Elenis, plaintiff Lorie Smith originally feared she would run afoul…
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Federal judge says ‘hands are tied,’ cannot resentence defendants under drug reform law
A federal judge last month told two men serving life sentences that her “hands are tied” and she cannot reduce their prison terms, even in the face of recent federal legislation addressing the historical disparities in punishment for cases involving crack cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Regina M. Rodriguez denied the resentencing requests from Lee…
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The Trump ballot disqualification trial begins in Colorado this week. Here are 7 things to know
A weeklong hearing in Denver District Court this month will answer an extraordinary legal question with potential ramifications nationwide: Did Donald Trump engage in an insurrection as president, rendering him constitutionally ineligible to seek the office again in 2024? Here is an overview of the case to date and the disputed issues heading into the…
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Crime victim cannot sue over sheriff’s mishandling of evidence, appeals court rules
A crime victim cannot claim the Huerfano County Sheriff’s Office violated his constitutional rights when it failed to process key evidence and compromised his assailant’s prosecution, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday. In a case that seemed to be the first of its kind, Brian Puerta attempted to sue Sheriff Bruce Newman and three of…
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Appeals court overturns organized crime conviction, finds no constitutional violation
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday reversed a man’s organized crime conviction in Douglas County in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent directive about how a criminal “enterprise” must be proven. At the same time, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals rejected Chauncey Price’s argument that his dual convictions for child pimping and…
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Q&A with Joe Fore | Law professor on the importance of how judicial decisions look
Across the vast federal court system are dozens of trial courts, 13 circuit courts of appeals and one Supreme Court. Each court issues countless pages of written work every year. While the contents of judicial decisions may vary greatly, the look and feel of those decisions also lack uniformity. Joe Fore, a professor of legal…
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Federal judge blocks Colorado from enforcing ‘abortion reversal’ ban against Catholic health clinic
A Catholic health clinic with locations in Englewood and Denver will be able to keep offering “abortion reversal” treatment after a federal judge on Saturday narrowly blocked the state from enforcing a new law that effectively bans the disputed practice. Bella Health and Wellness succeeded in obtaining a preliminary injunction against Senate Bill 190, which…
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Justice Melissa Hart addresses scope of state, federal constitutional protections amid legal battles
During a discussion about the ways in which Colorado’s constitution provides certain protections beyond its federal counterpart, Justice Melissa Hart invited attorneys to consider how to expand the range of issues brought before the state’s highest court. “We can only do what we get,” she said of the Supreme Court. “But lawyers need to think…
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Appeals court reverses another Adams County conviction for judge’s faulty analogy
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday once again overturned a defendant’s convictions because an Adams County judge illustrated reasonable doubt to jurors in a way that improperly lowered the prosecution’s burden to prove him guilty. The Court of Appeals has repeatedly reversed the convictions of defendants for more than a year – exclusively from Adams County – after the Colorado Supreme Court decided in 2022 that some judges’…
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‘What’s the injury?’ Federal judge wary of Christian school’s challenge to universal pre-K program
A Christian school in Chaffee County argued to a federal judge on Thursday that it should be able to receive state money to participate in the new universal preschool program without having to abide by Colorado’s non-discrimination rules for providers. The Darren Patterson Christian Academy, which enrolls students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, is seeking…