Tag: Judge Craig Welling
-
In Tina Peters appeal, judges telegraph some degree of reversal | ANALYSIS
Former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters seems poised to walk away from the state’s Court of Appeals with her criminal convictions largely intact, even as a three-judge appellate panel raised concerns about her sentence and one specific conviction. Peters, a Republican who served one term following her 2018 election, is serving a nine-year prison sentence…
-
Appeals court orders new menacing trial after faulty self-defense instruction
Colorado’s second-highest court ordered a new trial last week for an El Paso County defendant convicted of felony menacing, concluding an erroneous self-defense instruction may have influenced the verdict. Under Colorado law, self-defense is an affirmative defense, meaning the prosecution must disprove at least one component in addition to proving the underlying offense. Judges are…
-
Colorado Supreme Court to examine whether corporations can be liable for ‘felonious killing’
The Colorado Supreme Court recently announced that it will determine whether corporations can be liable for a “felonious killing,” meaning there is no limit to the damages they might pay for pain and suffering after causing a wrongful death. At least three of the court’s seven members must agree to take a case on appeal.…
-
Appeals judge raises questions about review of custody decisions
A member of Colorado’s second-highest court suggested last week that appellate judges should have more leeway to decide whether trial judges correctly terminate or decline to terminate parents’ legal rights over their children. At the same time, the three-judge Court of Appeals panel agreed that no specific person has to be identified in order for…
-
Appeals court finds Denver jury convicted man for possessing more fentanyl than evidence showed
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday concluded a Denver jury convicted a defendant of a felony for possessing more than four grams of an illegal substance when the evidence actually showed it was not close to even one gram. At his 2023 trial, a jury convicted Cesar Noel Garcia for misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine and felony…
-
Colorado Supreme Court upholds DPS search of student on ‘safety plan’
—
by
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The Colorado Supreme Court agreed on Monday that Denver Public Schools personnel acted constitutionally when they searched a student’s backpack without a warrant or suspicion of wrongdoing, but instead pursuant to a “safety plan” created after his prior criminal conduct. The case appeared to be…
-
Colorado appeals court issues rulings on drug money, Pueblo councilman’s vandalism
—
by
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday decided a pair of cases involving financial restitution to crime victims, finding defendants are not obligated to repay police departments for money used in drug purchases and also upholding a Pueblo council member’s duty to pay $3,800 for his vandalism. Under Colorado law, most convictions require judges to consider whether…