weld county
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Colorado Supreme Court intervenes in second Weld County case after botched cell phone search
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The Colorado Supreme Court stepped in to do damage control this month in a second Weld County criminal case, following a trial judge’s failure to contain the fallout from a botched cell phone search. Marquise Shadell Daniels and Laura Tellers separately have sought the Supreme Court’s intervention after more than 120 confidential attorney-client communications fell…
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‘Chutzpah’: Colorado justices raise eyebrows at Weld County’s assertion it can evade redistricting law
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared incredulous on Wednesday as a lawyer for Weld County argued the jurisdiction did not need to follow the state’s redistricting law, maintained it should not have to redraw its commissioner districts for nine more years, and declined to say whether the county would even comply with a Supreme…
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‘Uncharted territory’: Colorado Supreme Court wades into murder case involving wrongly disclosed files
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The Colorado Supreme Court signaled last week that it may intervene in a Weld County murder case in which a trial judge has struggled to contain the accidental release of confidential defense documents to the prosecution. Marquise Shadell Daniels stands accused of murdering Blaire McQueen in December 2020. In an unusual twist, an investigator for the defense,…
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Appeals court overturns juvenile’s conviction based on Safe2Tell tip
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Colorado’s second-highest court determined last week that a Weld County magistrate improperly relied on an anonymous tip through the state’s Safe2Tell program when she found a juvenile defendant had participated in vandalizing a high school. Surveillance video captured two people spray painting a school building. Administrators subsequently received a tip identifying one of the suspects…
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Colorado justices say no automatic reversal when jury convicts on different crime than charged
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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday there is no automatic reversal of a defendant’s convictions if jurors rely on instructions that outline a different crime than the one prosecutors charged in the first place. The justices concluded that such a change, known as a “constructive amendment,” does not fall in the category of structural…
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Colorado Supreme Court lays out frustration with current method of ID’ing racial bias in jury selection
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Colorado’s justices escalated their frustration on Monday with the existing framework for evaluating race-motivated dismissals of jurors in criminal trials, months after the state Supreme Court also invited lawmakers to do their part to fix the problem. Under longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, intentional race-based discrimination in jury selection is unconstitutional. Normally, parties may exercise…
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Colorado Supreme Court to hear cases on Weld County redistricting, Xcel electrocution
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced recently that it will hear appeals in multiple cases, including whether Weld County must follow state law when drawing new legislative districts and when utilities may be held liable for injuries caused by their power lines. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take up a…
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Colorado justices permit limited disclosure of medical records during contested will proceedings
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The Colorado Supreme Court agreed on Monday that a Weld County judge properly allowed for disclosure of a deceased man’s medical records in the dispute between his children over the validity of his will. Writing in the June 10 opinion, Justice Melissa Hart acknowledged that physician-patient confidentiality, much like attorney-client confidentiality, applies even after a…
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Appeals court says car crash victim’s pregnancies irrelevant to personal injury trial
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Colorado’s second-highest court determined last week that a Weld County judge should not have instructed jurors to consider a car crash victim’s subsequent pregnancies and the disruption they had to her treatment when deciding how much money she should receive for her injuries. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals concluded the evidence did…