Author: Michael Karlik
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10th Circuit grants Boulder-Weld district’s fire chief immunity for firing union leader
The Denver-based federal appeals court decided on Monday that the chief of a fire protection district spanning Boulder and Weld counties could not be held liable for terminating a union leader through the process outlined in the collective bargaining agreement. A trial judge concluded Chief David Beebe of the Niwot-based Mountain View Fire Protection District…
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Colorado Supreme Court declines to loosen requirements for insurance company defendants
The Colorado Supreme Court declined last week to reconsider its longstanding expectations for insurance company defendants, and agreed that an insurer failed to properly raise its defenses against a policyholder’s breach-of-contract lawsuit. When an insured driver has an accident with someone who is uninsured, they may obtain benefits under their own insurance policy for the…
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Colorado Springs may be sued for faulty intersection, state Supreme Court rules
The Colorado Supreme Court decided last month that Colorado Springs can be sued over a collision that occurred as a result of traffic lights that were functioning normally in one direction, but were inoperative in the perpendicular direction. The question for the Supreme Court was whether the traffic arrangement provided “conflicting” signals to plaintiff Bernard…
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Appeals court reinstates murder case despite ex-DA Linda Stanley’s conduct
Colorado’s second-highest court reinstated the murder and child abuse charges on Thursday against a Fremont County defendant, reasoning that the former district attorney’s misconduct did not warrant dismissal of the charges. A judge previously dismissed the criminal case against defendant William Jacobs after former elected District Attorney Linda Stanley spoke in derogatory terms about Jacobs…
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Federal judge green-lights jury visit to Aurora detention center in forced-labor lawsuit
A federal judge granted a request on Thursday to have jurors visit the privately run U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Aurora as part of an upcoming civil trial over alleged forced labor practices. U.S. District Court Senior Judge John L. Kane said he wanted the “best possible trial,” and initially postponed his…
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Colorado Supreme Court to evaluate test for alimony after remarriage
The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will evaluate whether divorcing spouses must explicitly agree that alimony payments from one partner to the other will continue after one person remarries, or whether a “clear implication” will suffice. The purpose of alimony, known in Colorado as “spousal maintenance,” is to assist spouses who cannot be financially…
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Jeffco murder conviction overturned due to improper evidence
Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a defendant’s convictions for murder and aggravated robbery earlier this month, finding that a Jefferson County judge allowed evidence that improperly suggested the man had “bad character” for possessing guns generally. Under the rules for criminal cases, evidence cannot be used to prove a defendant has bad character, and they acted…
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Children’s Colorado must resume care to transgender plaintiffs, state Supreme Court rules by 5-2
The Colorado Supreme Court, by a 5-2 vote, ordered Children’s Hospital Colorado on Monday to resume providing certain medical services to a group of transgender plaintiffs, which it had ceased in the face of funding threats from the federal government last year. The unusual appeal before the Supreme Court stemmed from a trial judge’s rejection…
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10th Circuit again dismisses ex-prison employee’s challenge to workplace DEI training
The Denver-based federal appeals court dismissed a second lawsuit on Monday brought by a former Colorado Department of Corrections employee who was offended by an equity training module and had alleged it created a hostile work environment. In 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang dismissed Joshua F. Young’s first lawsuit on the grounds that he…
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ICE ‘materially violated’ order on warrantless arrests, Colorado judge says
A federal judge ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday to immediately train its Colorado employees about how to lawfully perform warrantless arrests, after the evidence showed officers had little understanding of the requirements. U.S. District Court Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson wrote that ICE had “materially violated” his prior order that directed immigration…