Tag: restitution
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Colorado justices accept 3 appeals to sort out issues from landmark restitution ruling
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday it will hear three cases to rein in the confusion that has developed in the wake of its landmark 2021 decision addressing the process for making criminal defendants pay financial restitution to their victims. The questions the justices will answer include: • Can a defendant’s plea agreement relinquish…
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Federal judge declines to intervene after state ‘intercepted’ Colorado man’s $3.5 million jury award
A federal judge on Thursday concluded he did not have the authority to intervene as Colorado performed an “administrative intercept” of the $3.5 million a jury awarded a plaintiff more than a year ago for violations of his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews acknowledged there might…
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Appeals judge trains fire on Colorado Supreme Court’s landmark restitution ruling
One member of Colorado’s second-highest court has mounted an unusual effort in recent weeks to broadcast his dissatisfaction with a state Supreme Court decision that resulted in scores of financial restitution orders to crime victims being overturned on appeal. In Colorado, when a convicted defendant is required to pay restitution, prosecutors typically must provide the…
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Appeals court warns judges, prosecutors to stop dragging feet on victim restitution
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday warned that prosecutors should be moving faster to determine the financial restitution owed to crime victims, and that trial judges are empowered to nudge the prosecution along by setting a timeline for calculating the amount owed. The decision from the Court of Appeals is the latest in a spate of restitution-related…
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Colorado Supreme Court takes up another restitution appeal
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Tuesday it will hear another case interpreting the procedure trial judges use when ordering criminal defendants to pay financial restitution to their victims. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to review an appeal. In Colorado, when a convicted defendant is required to pay restitution, prosecutors typically…
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Colorado Supreme Court upholds Boulder bike thief’s restitution to victim
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday upheld the $2,394 in restitution a Boulder thief owed for damaging his victim’s car as he fled, rejecting the argument that the victim’s actions actually caused the damage. In the process, the justices also clarified defendants have to clear a high threshold when challenging a trial judge’s finding that…