Tag: Right To Counsel
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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,…
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Appeals court, prosecution, defense all agree judge violated Routt County defendant’s right to counsel
After the government and the defense both expressed rare agreement that a judge failed to ensure a Routt County defendant validly gave up his right to counsel, Colorado’s second-highest court ordered a redo of the proceedings on Thursday. Jurors convicted Movses Mikaelyan in 2023 for the unauthorized use of a financial device. Shortly afterward, his…
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Defendant’s ‘extreme religious beliefs’ did not render her incompetent, appeals court rules
‘Allowing certain mentally ill defendants to represent themselves can create a humiliating spectacle that undercuts the fundamental constitutional objective of a fair trial,’ argued Ika Eden’s lawyer
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Douglas County judge wrongly let man represent self at trial, appeals court finds
Judge Patricia Herron did not ensure the defendant intelligently gave up his right to counsel, even as he mentioned he had applied unsuccessfully for a lawyer
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Denver judge forced man to choose between right to attorney, speedy trial, appeals court says
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Colorado’s second-highest court last week reversed a man’s convictions after finding a Denver judge forced him to choose between postponing his jury trial if he wanted a lawyer or continuing to trial as scheduled, but with no attorney. Aurelio DeSantiago opted to represent himself and a jury convicted him of multiple assault charges. He received…
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Appeals court says man representing himself was not crazy, but ‘sovereign citizen’
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While all parties agreed that Charles James Crabtree had acted bizarrely throughout his drunken-driving case, Colorado’s second-highest court determined it was not mental illness, but rather Crabtree’s belief in the “sovereign citizen” movement that motivated his aberrant behavior. The state’s Court of Appeals consequently declined to overturn Crabtree’s conviction for driving under the influence, even…
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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…