william martinez
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Judge agrees security guards could block woman from entering courthouse for failing to answer question
Security guards acted within their authority by requiring a woman to disclose which courtroom she was going to as a condition of entering the federal courthouse in Denver, a judge has ruled. Tiffany Grays missed a court hearing in her civil case last fall because two court security officers, identified as CSOs Lee and Garcia,…
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City contractor dismissed from lawsuit over Denver’s encampment sweeps
A federal judge has dismissed Denver’s hazardous materials contractor from the federal lawsuit that is challenging the constitutionality of the city’s encampment-clearing tactics and seeking to restrict future seizures of property. One of the defendants named in the lawsuit, Environmental Hazmat Services, is a Wheat Ridge company whose contract with Denver entails clearing encampments for…
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Federal judge in Colorado announces retirement, creating fourth trial court vacancy for Biden
William J. Martínez, a judge on Colorado’s U.S. District Court, announced that he will step down as an active judge effective Feb. 10, 2023. Martínez, who is 68 this year, was an appointee of President Barack Obama, and has served since December 2010. He has opted to take a form of retirement known as senior status,…
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Judge green-lights lawsuit for trial against Adams County deputy who killed man
A federal judge has green-lit an excessive force lawsuit for a jury trial, stemming from an Adams County deputy’s fatal shooting of a 19-year-old in 2017. U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martínez determined it was unclear whether Kyler Grabbingbear posed an immediate threat to Deputy Wilfred Europe, and it would therefore be up to a…
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Pueblo County sheriff, deputies may be held liable for excessive force in traffic stop, federal judge rules
A federal judge has denied a request from the Pueblo County sheriff to dismiss a civil rights lawsuit against him and two of his deputies, stemming from a November 2019 traffic stop in which the officers allegedly slammed a woman into the ground and falsely claimed she was speeding. Britney Nicole Kennedy sued Sheriff Kirk…