Tag: justice maria berkenkotter
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Colorado justices walk back appeals court’s expansion of rezoning via ballot box
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that rezonings of planned-unit developments cannot occur through a vote at the ballot box, reversing an appellate decision that found such changes were fair game for a popular vote. In contrast to traditional, or “Euclidean,” zoning, which separates land uses by type, planned-unit developments are based on negotiated…
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Colorado Supreme Court declines to loosen requirements for insurance company defendants
The Colorado Supreme Court declined last week to reconsider its longstanding expectations for insurance company defendants, and agreed that an insurer failed to properly raise its defenses against a policyholder’s breach-of-contract lawsuit. When an insured driver has an accident with someone who is uninsured, they may obtain benefits under their own insurance policy for the…
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Colorado justices say judges can nearly eliminate parenting time without it being a ‘restriction’
The Colorado Supreme Court concluded last month that judges can reduce the number of days a parent spends with their child post-divorce to just above zero without it rising to the level of a “restriction” that requires more rigorous justification under the law. While all members of the court agreed that a judge’s decision to…
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Colorado justices acknowledge judge’s misunderstanding of law in eminent domain case
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared to agree on Tuesday that a Douglas County judge incorrectly believed he lacked the authority to allow a property owner to pursue evidence challenging a government entity’s legal right to take the property through eminent domain. But during oral arguments, multiple justices bristled when an attorney for the…
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Colorado justices, lawyers speak with rural students through outreach program
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court appeared before students from eight rural schools on April 16 to hear a pair of cases, field questions, and mark the first time the state’s newest justice participated in the long-running program. “I had such a unique opportunity to get to work with so many people in my career.…
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Colorado Supreme Court appears OK with revised ‘reasonable doubt’ instruction
The Colorado Supreme Court appeared largely comfortable on Thursday with the recently revised definition of “reasonable doubt” that is now part of the template jury instructions for criminal cases. To date, multiple Court of Appeals decisions have endorsed the constitutionality of the new phrasing, which resembles the instruction given in Colorado’s federal trial court. U.S.…
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Colorado justices weigh constitutionality of unique disclosure requirement for ballot measures
Members of the Colorado Supreme Court considered on Tuesday whether a unique feature of the state’s campaign finance system categorically violates the First Amendment by requiring the disclosure of a ballot measure committee’s legal representative on advertisements. No on EE — A Bad Deal for Colorado was an issue committee in 2020 that opposed Proposition EE,…
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Colorado justices block injured plaintiff from suing, despite alleged concealment by Manitou Springs
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a woman injured on a Manitou Springs sidewalk could not sue the allegedly responsible entity, the city of Colorado Springs, even though she did not learn until too late of an agreement that made the city liable for the defective infrastructure. Jaimi J. Mostellar argued that Manitou…
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El Paso County defendant’s speedy trial rights violated, Colorado justices find in overturning convictions
The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday that an El Paso County prosecutor made an unjustified decision to file a mid-case appeal, pushing the trial beyond the legal deadline and requiring that the defendant’s convictions be overturned. In Colorado, the government generally must bring criminal defendants to trial within six months of a not-guilty plea,…
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Colorado justices side with news organizations for disclosure of high-level child abuse data
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the state must disclose the number of child abuse reports at individual group living facilities in response to an open records request, as the addresses are already in the public domain. The justices agreed that the Court of Appeals erred in resolving the case. But beyond that,…