Tag: recusal
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Secret orders, requests for recusal bog down Colorado’s death penalty prosecution
Colorado’s only criminal case in which federal prosecutors are actively pursuing the death penalty has taken unusual turns in recent weeks, with defense attorneys continuing to challenge the judge’s ability to hear the case and the judge issuing orders not available for public viewing. Ishmael Petty stands accused of killing a fellow inmate at the…
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Trump’s 10th Circuit nominee recuses from cases against federal government without explanation
President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill a vacancy on the Denver-based federal appeals court recused himself without a clear explanation from nine cases against the executive branch while he was undergoing vetting by the White House this spring. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Daniel D. Domenico disclosed the recusals in his responses to the U.S.…
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Federal judge to consider sanctioning ex-Colorado judicial discipline director
A federal judge ordered Colorado’s former head of judicial discipline on Wednesday to explain why she should not sanction him for making inaccurate statements about the defendants in his lawsuit against the Colorado Supreme Court and related entities. U.S. District Court Senior Judge Kathryn H. Vratil indicated she will hear arguments and evidence next Thursday…
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Colorado’s federal judges recused 200+ times in 4 years for variety of reasons
A handful of magistrate judges accounted for a large portion of the recusals
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Appeals court orders new sentencing due to biased Adams County judge
Colorado’s second-highest court agreed last week that a former Adams County judge should not have sentenced a criminal defendant, given that the judge acknowledged his bias by also granting a motion to recuse himself. Jurors convicted Regan Christopher Garcia in 2022 of stalking his ex-wife. After trial, Garcia believed his public defender was conspiring with…
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Transparency at the Colorado Supreme Court: Attorneys voice support for basic tweaks
In the past year, some members of the U.S. Supreme Court have chosen to disclose their justifications for recusing themselves from specific appeals, for reasons including their prior employment or their connection to people involved with the case. Similarly, the Colorado Supreme Court’s weekly case announcements note when any of the seven justices has recused…