Tag: judge carolyn mchugh
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10th Circuit upholds convictions of Aurora’s ‘Labor Day Massacre’ shooter
Even if there was a constitutional violation from letting jurors hear the videotaped statements of a wanted fugitive, the federal appeals court based in Denver agreed the out-of-court testimony implicating a teenage defendant in a 1998 killing spree did not undermine his murder convictions. Alexander Pogosyan is serving multiple life sentences for his role in…
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10th Circuit dismisses constitutional challenge to Colorado’s charitable solicitation law
The federal appeals court based in Denver dismissed a constitutional challenge to a portion of Colorado’s law governing paid nonprofit solicitors, determining on Friday that the lawsuit against Secretary of State Jena Griswold was now moot. Colorado’s legislature enacted the Charitable Solicitations Act after finding fraudulent solicitations on behalf of charities were a “widespread practice”…
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Colorado Supreme Court signals possible intervention in lawsuit over climate change impacts
The Colorado Supreme Court signaled on Monday it may intervene in a lawsuit out of Boulder County seeking to make ExxonMobil liable for damages resulting from climate change, one of many ongoing attempts across the country to hold oil and gas producers accountable for the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions. Boulder County and the city of Boulder…
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10th Circuit upholds COVID fraud convictions of Colorado Springs-based doctor
The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed on Monday that jurors heard sufficient evidence to convict a doctor of fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 aid from the government and spending it on himself, not on his medical practice headquartered in Colorado Springs. Francis Joseph, the founder of Springs Medical Associates, argued prosecutors failed to prove he…
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Lawyer’s failure to cite facts prompts 10th Circuit to toss excessive force case
The federal appeals court based in Colorado agreed last week that police officers from Littleton, Englewood and Denver cannot be held liable for killing one person and partially paralyzing another because the plaintiffs’ lawyer failed to cite any facts of the case while appealing a trial judge’s decision. During a late-night vehicle chase across multiple…
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10th Circuit agrees Saguache County jail supervisor can be held liable for detainee’s suicide
The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed on Wednesday that a jury should decide whether a Saguache County jail supervisor is liable for failing to prevent the death of a suicidal detainee. Last year, a trial judge declined to grant immunity to Capt. Kenneth Wilson for the November 2019 suicide of Jackson Maes in…
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10th Circuit reinstates dress code discrimination lawsuit against Colorado Springs charter school
The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed on Tuesday that a boy could pursue his claims of sex-based discrimination against a Colorado Springs charter school after he was disciplined for wearing earrings under a boys-only prohibition on the accessory. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit determined a…
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10th Circuit rejects conservative group’s challenge to ballot title transparency law
The federal appeals court based in Denver rejected a conservative group’s challenge on Friday to a 2021 Colorado law that requires tax-cutting ballot initiatives to provide details to voters about affected services, even if the mandated information is inaccurate. Following the 1992 enactment of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, ballot measures seeking to increase tax…
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10th Circuit removes obstacle to long-planned resort project in Rio Grande National Forest
The federal appeals court based in Denver cleared a key obstacle on Friday to the construction of a resort village in the Rio Grande National Forest that has been planned for nearly four decades but has run into a steady stream of legal and logistical hurdles. Conservation groups have repeatedly challenged the proposed Village at…
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Colorado Supreme Court identifies potential red flag in state’s sex offender sentencing law
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday suggested the 25-year-old law governing criminal sentences for sex offenders might run afoul of the constitutional prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment when applied to juveniles serving lengthy terms of incarceration. The ultimate question of whether the Sex Offender Lifetime Supervision Act, or SOLSA, is unconstitutional in the case of…