Author: Michael Karlik
-
Legislature overrules state Supreme Court decisions, federal judges contend with violations of orders | COURT CRAWL
—
by
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. The Colorado legislature overruled two recent state Supreme Court decisions in this year’s session, plus federal judges are addressing the government’s violations of their orders in immigration detention cases. Supreme Court news • By 5-2, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed that…
-
Appeals court reinstates murder case despite ex-DA Linda Stanley’s conduct
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court reinstated the murder and child abuse charges on Thursday against a Fremont County defendant, reasoning that the former district attorney’s misconduct did not warrant dismissal of the charges. A judge previously dismissed the criminal case against defendant William Jacobs after former elected District Attorney Linda Stanley spoke in derogatory terms about Jacobs…
-
Federal judge green-lights jury visit to Aurora detention center in forced-labor lawsuit
—
by
A federal judge granted a request on Thursday to have jurors visit the privately run U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Aurora as part of an upcoming civil trial over alleged forced labor practices. U.S. District Court Senior Judge John L. Kane said he wanted the “best possible trial,” and initially postponed his…
-
Federal judges’ responses vary to immigration authorities’ disregard of orders
—
by
Colorado’s U.S. District Court judges have responded in recent days to the government’s violations of, or unclear compliance with, their orders in immigration detention cases, resulting in directives to immediately free the petitioners. “I’m just struggling to understand how he was removed from the United States even though (the government acknowledges) he could not be…
-
Colorado Supreme Court ditches debt collection case
—
by
The Colorado Supreme Court declined to rule on Friday in a case questioning the procedure a creditor may use to obtain records from entities related to a debtor, in which the court initially expressed its interest. Joel Farkas is liable for a $41.2 million debt, and the creditor, VP Fruition Holdings LLC, issued a half-dozen…
-
Colorado Supreme Court to evaluate test for alimony after remarriage
—
by
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will evaluate whether divorcing spouses must explicitly agree that alimony payments from one partner to the other will continue after one person remarries, or whether a “clear implication” will suffice. The purpose of alimony, known in Colorado as “spousal maintenance,” is to assist spouses who cannot be financially…
-
Retired Colorado appeals judge speaks about civic advocacy, SCOTUS
—
by
Retired state Court of Appeals Judge Russell Carparelli offered mild critiques of the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month as he spoke about the rule of law, and urged lawyers to “get in the game” by advocating in the political arena. “I stayed out of politics completely. I never even signed up with one of…
-
Aggravated robbery charge reinstated after El Paso County judge misunderstood requirements
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court reinstated an El Paso County defendant’s aggravated robbery charge on Thursday after concluding that a trial judge misunderstood the requirement for a person to be “then and there so armed.” Allegedly, Mark Alan Ambrose walked out of a Circle K store with five cases of Red Bull that he did not pay…
-
Colorado legislature overrules 2 state Supreme Court decisions about child neglect, visitation
—
by
Colorado lawmakers have overruled a recent pair of state Supreme Court decisions, adopting the dissenting justices’ points of view in cases involving grandparent visitation rights and the ability of children to oppose a county’s decision to withdraw a neglect case. The recently enacted legislation addressed two split decisions that the Supreme Court released within days…
-
Colorado federal judge speaks about judicial innovation, leadership
—
by
U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell spoke on a virtual panel of judges last week about innovation and leadership in the judiciary, touching on her experiences before and during her time on the bench. “When I was at the (attorney general’s) office leading a litigation team, of course the litigation team is very focused on…