Tag: judge philip brimmer
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Colorado’s federal judges slash motions backlog, with a little outside help
Data released last month by the federal judiciary showed that several of Colorado’s federal trial judges successfully reduced or even eliminated the volume of motions pending for six months or longer on their dockets. The Civil Justice Reform Act of 1990 requires public reporting of motions awaiting action for more than six months in civil matters assigned to…
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Find the bias: Chief federal judge, lawyers talk about how to select a jury
For lawyers participating in jury selection in federal court, the key is to identify biased jurors, while also remaining conversational, taking notes, and paying attention to basic details. “It is a very frequent occurrence that I’ve clarified how the juror pronounces his or her name and the attorney gets up there and butchers it because…
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Facing ejection from Colorado case, John Eastman withdraws as attorney
Attorney John C. Eastman, who faces both professional discipline and criminal charges for his role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, withdrew as an attorney from a Colorado case on Friday before a federal judge could terminate him from the litigation. Under the rules of Colorado’s U.S. District Court, an…
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The Bennet-Hickenlooper Court: How 2 senators left their mark on Colorado’s federal bench | COVER STORY
One month before President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, Dana Remus, the incoming White House counsel, sent a letter to senators outlining the new administration’s philosophy for filling certain presidentially appointed roles, including federal trial judgeships. “With respect to U.S. District Court positions,” she wrote, “we are particularly focused on nominating individuals whose legal experiences have been…
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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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Federal judge dismisses negligence claim against hospital in death of Montezuma County jail detainee
A hospital in Cortez cannot itself be liable for negligence in the death of a Montezuma County jail detainee, a federal judge ruled last month. Kelroy Newman arrived at the jail on July 17, 2021 with a blood alcohol concentration five times the legal limit, 0.421, and injuries to his head. Police took him to Southwest…
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Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against Denver officials over 2020 pro-police rally
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Denver’s former mayor and several city officials alleging they conspired with those who violently disrupted a pro-police rally four years ago in Civic Center Park. Weeks after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd in May 2020, sparking international demonstrations, a scheduled “Law Enforcement Appreciation Day” event…
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Following SCOTUS decision, judge enters injunction against Colorado in 303 Creative case
Nine months after the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision and nearly eight years after she first filed suit in Colorado’s federal trial court, web designer Lorie Smith received an injunction prohibiting the state from compelling her to create wedding websites for same-sex couples. In a March 26 order, U.S. District Court Chief Judge…
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Judge allows ex-Aurora VA doc to proceed with employment discrimination case
A federal judge last month permitted a former anesthesiologist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Colorado to proceed with some of her employment discrimination claims, even though a different judge previously found the VA was justified in removing her. Elizabeth Schacht worked for the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center in Aurora between 2015 and…
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Colorado Supreme Court weighs Amazon’s obligation to pay millions more in overtime
Members of the state Supreme Court heard on Wednesday that Colorado will be an outlier among all states if its wage regulations require companies to include incentive pay for time worked on holidays when calculating employees’ overtime compensation. At the same time, the justices repeatedly returned to the text of the disputed regulation, which provides…