Author: Michael Karlik michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
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Colorado Supreme Court suspends Mesa County judge pending misconduct investigation
The Colorado Supreme Court suspended Mesa County Court Judge Michael J. Grattan on Thursday amid a misconduct investigation. The court’s Sept. 10 order gave Grattan 21 days to explain why his paid suspension should not continue through the end of his disciplinary proceedings. Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez did not participate in the order and…
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Colorado Springs officers’ tasing, threats prompt federal judge to block use of suspect’s statements
A federal judge blocked the government last month from using some of a defendant’s statements as evidence, reasoning that the defendant made them involuntarily as Colorado Springs officers tased him five times and one officer threatened to kill him. Officers responded one morning in June 2025 to a theft call from a plumbing store in…
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10th Circuit orders new unlawful arrest trial against Colorado Springs officers
The Denver-based federal appeals court concluded on Friday that a trial judge inappropriately allowed jurors to see several unflattering video clips of a plaintiff being belligerent toward police officers during a trial to determine whether police violated her constitutional rights. Sasha Cronick pursued claims of unlawful search and arrest against Colorado Springs officers who handcuffed…
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Denver murder conviction reversed for incomplete self-defense instruction
Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a defendant’s murder conviction last week because a Denver judge gave an incomplete instruction to the jury about the man’s right to self-defense. Donald R. Gonzales and Gary McLaughlin met up in a Capitol Hill parking lot one night in May 2021 for a sexual encounter in Gonzales’ car. According to…
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Federal judge dismisses excessive force lawsuit against Colorado Springs, officer
A federal judge concluded last week that a Colorado Springs police officer could not be held liable for shooting a suspect three times after the man menaced two victims with a gun and fled the scene. Al’morion Germany was involved in an altercation inside Nova nightclub around midnight in June 2024 that spilled onto the…
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Wrongfully deported man to be returned to U.S., Colorado federal judge orders
Colorado’s chief federal judge took the extraordinary step of directing the government on Tuesday to do everything it can to return a man it deported in violation of his order. At the same time, Colorado’s chief magistrate judge has set a hearing for next month to explore multiple instances in which the U.S. Department of…
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Colorado Supreme Court intervenes in Weld County prosecution dismissed due to Missy Woods misconduct
The Colorado Supreme Court ordered a Weld County trial judge last week to respond to the district attorney’s claim that he improperly dismissed a criminal case because of “outrageous” conduct by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Daniel Lee Eatinger stood accused of sexual assault on a child dating to July 2018. Prosecutors sought Eatinger’s arrest…
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Federal judge hears arguments about Colorado’s 3-day gun purchase waiting period
A federal judge heard arguments on Monday about the constitutionality of a 2023 Colorado law that generally imposes a three-day waiting period on firearm purchases after the initiation of a background check. The test that the U.S. Supreme Court created in 2022 for assessing firearm regulations’ compliance with the Second Amendment occurs in two phases.…
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Schoolchildren’s presence at child sex-related trial did not harm Arapahoe County defendant, appeals court says
Colorado’s second-highest court decided on Thursday that the presence of a group of schoolchildren on the first day of a child sexual exploitation trial did not violate an Arapahoe County defendant’s constitutional right to a fair trial. Prosecutors charged Jerry Lee Stinnett with two counts related to the possession of sexually abusive material involving children.…
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Appeals court cites week-old Colorado law to reinstate child neglect case at child, father’s request
Colorado’s second-highest court invoked a new state law for the first time on Thursday and reinstated a child neglect case that both the child and her father wished to reopen. House Bill 1227 took effect on Aug. 12, reversing a Colorado Supreme Court decision from 2025 that addressed what should happen after a county moves…