Tag: adams county
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Colorado justices say judge had no grounds to order defendant to turn over info to prosecution
The Colorado Supreme Court agreed on Monday that a trial judge had no authority to order a defendant to give the prosecution a preview of what his expert witness would say at a hearing to challenge his murder convictions. In contrast to direct appeals of criminal convictions, defendants may pursue postconviction relief in the trial courts for…
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Appeals court says requirement that parents be ‘present’ during child interrogations does not mean ‘attentive’
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that the requirement for parents to be present when police interrogate their child in custody means only that the parent must be “physically present,” not “mentally present” as well. Under the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona, law enforcement is required to inform a suspect of their rights…
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Colorado Supreme Court says license plate corresponding to other vehicle is grounds for stopping driver
An Adams County deputy’s discovery that the license plates on a vehicle were registered to another car provided him the reasonable suspicion required to detain the driver, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. However, the justices stopped short of deeming the subsequent vehicle search constitutional, as the trial judge had not yet evaluated whether…
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Appeals judge suggests legislature clarify law providing compensation to exonerated defendants
A member of Colorado’s second-highest court suggested last month that lawmakers clarify whether defendants are only supposed to be eligible for compensation when they are innocent of the specific crime they were convicted of, even if there is evidence their conduct still amounted to a different crime. In 2013, the legislature passed the Exoneration Act,…
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Magistrates, lawyers discuss youth, guns and responses to school safety
Adams County Magistrate Michal Lord-Blegen was a school administrator in Aurora when two teenagers killed 13 people and themselves at Columbine High School in 1999. The massacre was a lens through which she viewed her subsequent work as a principal and as a lawyer. “We’ve got a lot of kids with guns,” said Lord-Blegen earlier this…
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Adams County murder conviction overturned for unreliable identification of suspect
Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned a man’s murder conviction and ordered a new trial after finding a witness’s identification, based on a suggestive photo array, was unreliable and should have been excluded from trial. On the night of Jan. 30, 2018, two men fought with Ricardo Rivas in the parking lot of his Westminster…
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Appeals court orders new sentencing due to biased Adams County judge
Colorado’s second-highest court agreed last week that a former Adams County judge should not have sentenced a criminal defendant, given that the judge acknowledged his bias by also granting a motion to recuse himself. Jurors convicted Regan Christopher Garcia in 2022 of stalking his ex-wife. After trial, Garcia believed his public defender was conspiring with…
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Colorado justices to examine whether defendants must reveal evidence in postconviction challenges
The Colorado Supreme Court signaled last week that it will address whether judges have the authority to make defendants who are challenging their convictions disclose details to the prosecution about what their expert witnesses will say. In contrast to direct appeals of criminal convictions, defendants may pursue postconviction relief in the trial courts for limited…
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Seventh time’s the charm? Trial judge again under consideration for appeals court vacancy
Colorado’s Court of Appeals has experienced unusually high turnover recently, with Gov. Jared Polis appointing 11 of its 22 members in little under six years. As Polis prepares to select a 12th judge to the state’s second-highest court, a familiar name is under consideration: District Court Judge Priscilla J. Loew. For each of the past six vacancies…
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Appeals court reverses Adams County attempted murder conviction due to experts’ improper testimony
Colorado’s second-highest court last month overturned a man’s attempted murder conviction because prosecutors failed to establish a chain of custody for the defendant’s DNA and fingerprint evidence that allegedly tied him to the crime. Jurors heard from two forensic analysts who matched Julian Vigil to the gun that was used to shoot the victim in…