Tag: constitution
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10th Circuit upholds dismissal of ex-Teller County fire chief’s First Amendment lawsuit
The Denver-based federal appeals court agreed on Tuesday that the former chief of the Florissant Fire Protection District could not prevail on the claim that his 2023 firing was retaliation for his First Amendment-protected activity. Erik Holt alleged the Teller County district’s directors terminated him because he cooperated with an investigation into potential election fraud…
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10th Circuit agrees paramedic, officer not liable for constitutional violations in man’s death
The Denver-based federal appeals court decided on Monday that a Colorado Springs paramedic and police officer could not be held liable for constitutional violations for their roles in restraining a man in a mental health crisis, leading to his death. Kevin Dizmang’s surviving daughter alleged that paramedic Nick Fischer used excessive force on Dizmang in…
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Colorado justices confirm leaving-the-scene prosecutions require no proof of driver’s knowledge
The Colorado Supreme Court confirmed on Tuesday that its 20-year-old decision involving drivers who leave the scene of an accident remains good law and prosecutors do not have to prove that such defendants knew they were involved in an accident. In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that leaving the scene of an accident resulting in…
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The ongoing great experiment – America at 250
By The Foundation for a Better Life The date was September 17, 1787. Philadelphia, the largest city in North America, was designed by William Penn in a grid system intended to stretch all the way west to the Schuylkill River. Yet all 40,000 inhabitants were crowded into a few blocks on the eastern waterfront. Unpaved…
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Safe2Tell tip, corroborated details provided grounds to search backpack, Colorado justices rule
The Colorado Supreme Court decided this month that a tip submitted through the state’s confidential school safety system, plus a Douglas County administrator’s corroboration of some details, provided reasonable suspicion to search a student’s backpack for drugs. Someone submitted a tip through Safe2Tell, Colorado’s school safety reporting system, alleging a Chaparral High School student was smoking…
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Colorado Supreme Court upholds police search of car based on arm movements
The Colorado Supreme Court decided last week that Denver officers’ search of a vehicle was constitutional, based on their perception of the occupants’ arm movements that a trial judge found to not be credible. Officers Keegan Grubb and Richard Eberharter were patrolling West Denver one night in February 2025. Their purpose was to make “as…
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10th Circuit tosses Pueblo County sheriff defendants’ appeal in fatal shooting lawsuit
The Denver-based federal appeals court rejected an attempt from Pueblo County sheriff’s employees on Wednesday to rely on their own version of the facts to escape liability for fatally shooting an unarmed man outside a middle school. A trial judge ruled last year that the defendants were not entitled to qualified immunity, a judicially created…
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Colorado justices decline to say whether man’s child prostitution conviction is unconstitutional
The Colorado Supreme Court declined to say on Monday whether a man’s conviction for an attempted child prostitution offense violated his rights under the state constitution, and only concluded that the absence of an obvious error meant his conviction should remain intact. An El Paso County jury convicted Javier Vega Dominguez of two attempted child…
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Appeals court upholds discipline for Denver officers’ inadequate domestic violence investigation
Colorado’s second-highest court last week upheld Denver’s discipline of two officers whose investigation of a domestic violence report was brief, failed to separate the victim from her abuser, and overlooked the victim’s severe injuries. Officers Cory Stuper and Brian Finneran argued that pervasive procedural violations in the adjudicative process and their own desire to respect…
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Colorado justices recognize limited right to evidence in postconviction challenges
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that defendants challenging their convictions may, in certain circumstances, be entitled to receive the information the prosecution already handed over for trial at no cost. The justices rejected the argument that defendants seeking postconviction relief must use the open records law specific to criminal justice records, which prosecutors’…