Tag: Fifth Amendment
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In rare do-over, appeals court changes reasons for ordering new Denver assault trial
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In an unusual move, Colorado’s second-highest court last month withdrew its opinion ordering a new trial for a man convicted of assault, then issued a new decision with heavily modified reasoning. Originally, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals overturned Amos Rogers’ criminal convictions and 64-year sentence in October. It reasoned a Denver trial judge improperly…
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‘This is how innocent people are convicted,’ defendant alleges wrongful conviction to Supreme Court
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When police arrested Nora Hilda Rios-Vargas for the burglary of a Weld County trailer home where someone had stolen $15,000 in jewelry and $3,000 in coins, there was only one definitive piece of evidence linking her to the crime scene: shards of a bloody latex glove with her DNA on it. At the same time,…
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Appeals court finds district attorney violated defendant’s rights with comments
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A prosecutor in Morgan County crossed the line by implying a defendant was guilty because he chose to exercise his constitutional right to stay silent, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week. The Fifth Amendment protects a criminal defendant’s right against self-incrimination, and it is part of the Miranda warning a suspect receives in custody. The…
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Fractured Supreme Court finds Adams County defendant did not invoke right to counsel in custody
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save In an unusual decision on Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that a criminal defendant did not clearly invoke his constitutional right to an attorney during a police interrogation, even though a majority of the justices actually believed the opposite was true. The appeal…