Tag: montezuma county
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Montezuma County judge’s censure, suspension approved by discipline panel
A three-member disciplinary panel accepted, on Monday, an agreement between a Montezuma County judge and the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline that specifies he will receive a censure, a suspension, and additional education for his admitted instances of misconduct. Under constitutional Amendment H, which voters adopted in November 2024, County Court Judge Ian J. MacLaren…
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Appeals court orders new child abuse trial due to improper evidence of prior mistreatment
Colorado’s second-highest court overturned a Montezuma County defendant’s child abuse conviction last month, concluding evidence of prior mistreatment was too dissimilar to the alleged conduct that formed the basis of the criminal charges. Garland Kay Malcolm received a 32-year prison sentence after jurors convicted her in 2023 for the severe injuries to a 6-year-old boy…
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Montezuma County man’s drug conviction overturned because prosecution presented skewed narrative
Colorado’s second-highest court last week overturned a Montezuma County man’s drug conviction after concluding a judge allowed the prosecution to present a misleading version of what happened during the defendant’s arrest. At the 2022 trial of Ramon Alberto Dejesus III, jurors saw a series of largely muted videos depicting Dejesus’ arrest and booking into jail. At…
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After rejection by Colorado Supreme Court, federal judge also tosses oil, gas owners’ taxation challenge
A federal judge last month dismissed a lawsuit from a collection of mineral rights owners in Montezuma County, following the Colorado Supreme Court’s conclusion last year that they lacked standing to challenge roughly $500,000 in taxes owed. The long-running dispute centers on the McElmo Dome Unit in southwestern Colorado. Operator Kinder Morgan extracts the carbon…
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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…