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Appeals court upholds lifetime sentence for non-triggerman in Colorado Springs murder
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It does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment to sentence an adult to life in prison without parole for a death they did not cause, Colorado’s second-highest court has ruled. Wayne Sellers IV challenged his sentence, the most severe punishment authorized under Colorado law, for the crime of felony murder.…
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Justices clarify standard for establishing identity in previous-offender cases
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Colorado’s Supreme Court has clarified the level of evidence prosecutors must present to establish that a defendant who is charged with possession of a weapon by a previous offender does, in fact, have a prior felony conviction. In its ruling on Monday, the court decided there must be an “essential link” between the defendant and…
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Appeals court orders new trial after discovery that judge previously represented defendant
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The revelation that a Saguache County judge presided over a man’s trial despite representing him briefly as a public defender before her appointment prompted the state’s second-highest court to overturn the conviction and order a new trial on Thursday. By 2-1, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals believed Donald L. Garcia had not…
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Faulty police warrant prompts appeals court to overturn La Junta man’s convictions
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Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last month that police relied on an illegal search warrant to obtain evidence against a La Junta man despite having no probable cause for a crime. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals reversed the theft and attempted trespass convictions of David Leon Gearhart based on the Fourth Amendment’s requirement…
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State Supreme Court mulls how much evidence is enough to prove identity in prior convictions
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An El Paso County jury convicted Enrique Gorostieta in 2019 for possession of a weapon by a prior offender. To determine he was the same Enrique Gorostieta who had a 2016 drug conviction on his record, jurors heard that the name, birthdate and county matched, and they also received a physical description of the defendant…
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State Supreme Court affirms heightened responsibility for counties to American Indian families
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The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed on Monday that counties have a heightened responsibility to help American Indian families remain together amid child welfare proceedings — a standard that Denver had met despite a mother’s repeated relapses from her treatment program. The justices interpreted a key provision of the Indian Child Welfare Act, a 1978 federal law…
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‘Agree to disagree’: Students weigh in on appeals court cases argued at Denver school
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The state’s second-highest court issued a pair of noteworthy decisions last week: One involving a golf course injury and the other delving into a trespassing incident in subfreezing temperatures. But what distinguished these cases from the 2,000 others filed with the Court of Appeals each year was the fact that a few dozen high school students…
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‘There’s stuff that has kept me up at night’: Judges speak candidly to Denver students
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Three members of the state’s Court of Appeals fielded questions from curious high school students on Tuesday, one of the most common subjects being how they could separate their emotions about cases from the impartial legal decisions they are expected to render. The judges conceded that it takes practice. “Sometimes I see myself getting mad…
