Author: Michael Karlik
-
Federal judge blocks Colorado law requiring social media platforms to provide warnings to children
A federal judge blocked Colorado on Thursday from implementing a requirement that social media companies notify users younger than 18 of the effects to their mental and physical health from using the platforms. Lawmakers enacted House Bill 1136 by wide margins in 2024, with a goal of providing “research-based education and interventions” about minors’ use…
-
10th Circuit revives retaliation claim against Jeffco sanitation district
The Denver-based federal appeals court on Monday reinstated an attorney’s retaliation claim against her former employer, a special district based in Lakewood, alleging she was fired for statements she made about board members’ malfeasance. Courts have recognized that public employees’ First Amendment rights are more limited, owing to the need for the government to control…
-
Appeals court orders new trial after Denver judge wrongly let defendant represent self
A Denver judge incorrectly found that a defendant understood what he was doing by giving up his constitutional right to counsel, Colorado’s second-highest court concluded on Thursday in overturning the man’s assault convictions. Criminal defendants are allowed to represent themselves at trial by waiving their right to counsel. However, such a waiver must be “voluntary,…
-
Appeals court reverses murder conviction after Denver judge violated public trial right
Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a defendant’s murder conviction on Thursday because a Denver judge violated his constitutional right to a public trial. Due to an unusually large jury pool at Edward R. Sandoval’s 2022 trial, Chief Judge Christopher J. Baumann did not allow observers to be present in his courtroom during jury selection. Although the…
-
Appeals judge asks Colorado Supreme Court to clarify process for returning seized property to defendants
A member of Colorado’s second-highest court asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday to address the consequences of its 2022 decision outlining how convicted defendants are supposed to seek the return of property seized by law enforcement. In Woo v. El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, the justices concluded that defendants cannot bring a separate civil…
-
10th Circuit finds judge improperly imposed 25-year mandatory minimum for kidnapping
The Denver-based federal appeals court concluded on Tuesday that a judge incorrectly believed he had to sentence a defendant convicted of kidnapping to the 25-year mandatory minimum that applies to violent crime. A jury originally convicted Killiu Ford on multiple counts of kidnapping and related offenses for his 2009 abduction and robbery of a family.…
-
Federal judge awards $10,000 to Supermax prisoner for guard’s use of force
A federal judge took the rare step last week of concluding an incarcerated, self-represented plaintiff should be compensated $10,000 by the U.S. government for a prison guard’s unwarranted use of force. After a five-day bench trial in which Khalfan Khamis Mohamed represented himself against the government’s attorneys, U.S. District Court Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson…
-
Colorado justices ponder whether rental car companies are also ‘insurers’
The Colorado Supreme Court considered last week whether car rental companies that offer insurance policies can also be deemed “insurers” who may be sued for their failure to pay out benefits on claims. Hertz Corp. argued it was not an insurance company based on a sequence of events in the 1990s. The Supreme Court ruled…
-
Report: Colorado’s federal trial court sees time to trial tick up, magistrate judge consent remain low
Colorado’s federal trial court saw a slight uptick in the number of civil cases filed in 2024 and also a slight increase in the average time for a case to reach trial, according to a statistical report compiled by U.S. Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter. Neureiter also noted the percentage of cases handled exclusively by…
-
Appeals court declines to overturn defendant’s ‘3 strikes’ sentence
Colorado’s second-highest court concluded on Thursday that a defendant was sentenced under the state’s “three strikes” law in a manner that did not comply with the U.S. Constitution, but the mistake did not require reversal. Known as the Habitual Criminal Act, Colorado’s law requires judges to impose three or four times the maximum sentence if a…