Colorado Supreme Court Decisions 2014
Date: December 22, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 81
Docket Number: 13SA197
Justia Opinion Summary: In an interlocutory appeal, applicants sought to change their use of an absolute water right. Applicants conducted a historical consumptive use (HCU) analysis to determine the amount of water previously used in…
Date: December 8, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 80
Docket Number: 12SC870
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Supreme Court's review centered on whether the Special District Act (SDA) gave special districts the power to assign to a private party the right to receive development fees. Cherry…
Date: December 8, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 78
Docket Number: 13SC72
Justia Opinion Summary: Hours after receiving an angiogram from defendant-petitioner Dr. James Chapman, Dr. Lynn Harner died. Dr. Harner's wife, plaintiff-respondent Carolyn Harner subsequently sued petitioner for medical malpractice. The issue…
Date: December 8, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 79
Docket Number: 14SA253
Justia Opinion Summary: In a case brought under the Colorado Supreme Court's origination jurisdiction, the issue presented centered on whether a default judgment could be set aside as void for lack of jurisdiction due to the existence of a…
Date: November 24, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 77
Docket Number: 12SC442
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1952, Congress passed a resolution establishing a "National Day of Prayer," which was later officially defined as the first Thursday of May. Colorado's governor has issued annual honorary proclamations recognizing a…
Date: October 27, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 76
Docket Number: 13SC702
Justia Opinion Summary: In September 2007, Respondent Michael McKimmy was arrested for new offenses while on parole and was incarcerated. Respondent was charged in two separate cases, with second-degree burglary, theft, identity theft, and a…
Date: October 20, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 75
Docket Number: 12SC906
Justia Opinion Summary: To address economic conditions and projections demonstrating a severely underfunded plan, the Colorado General Assembly approved measured designed to protect present and future retirees by providing an adequately pension…
Date: October 14, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 73
Docket Number: 13SA124
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent-plaintiff Scott Simpson sought to obtain meeting minutes from two Cedar Springs Hospital quality management committees in his medical malpractice case. Cedar Springs refused to produce these documents, arguing…
Date: October 14, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 74
Docket Number: 14SA71
Justia Opinion Summary: A state trooper pulled over the defendant while she was driving a rental car that she was not authorized to drive. While impounding the car at rental company’s request, the trooper who stopped her discovered three…
Date: September 22, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 71
Docket Number: 14SA70
Justia Opinion Summary: A police officer observed a traffic violation. Upon stopping the car, the officer discovered that the driver, defendant Christopher Vaughn, was driving under a suspended license. The officer decided to arrest defendant,…
Date: September 22, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 72
Docket Number: 14SA88
Justia Opinion Summary: A police officer stopped the vehicle defendant Ari Liggett was driving, and upon asking dispatch to scan the license plate, determined that it was associated with both a missing person (defendant's mother) and an…
Date: September 8, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 70
Docket Number: 13SA245
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners Conley Hoskins and Jane Medicals, LLC, sought to vacate a trial court's order disqualifying the Peters Mair Wilcox (PMW) law firm as their counsel. The trial court disqualified the firm on the grounds that…
Date: August 18, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 58M
Docket Number: 13SA91
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Sir Mario Owens and Robert Ray petitioned the Colorado Supreme Court for relief from a series of discovery rulings by the district court relative to post-conviction proceedings in their respective…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 56
Docket Number: 11SC215
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-petitioner Ricardo Sanchez appealed his conviction for first degree murder, arguing, inter alia, the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress statements he made to New Mexico police shortly after his…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 68
Docket Number: 11SC455
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Lori Martin shot her husband in the back of the head, killing him, following a dispute about her moving to another state with the couple's daughter. Martin was charged with first-degree murder and two crimes of…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 59
Docket Number: 11SC759
Justia Opinion Summary: Public Service Company of Colorado applied for a tax refund from the state Department of Revenue. The company argued that it was entitled to a refund because it paid taxes when it was actually eligible for an exemption.…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 67
Docket Number: 11SC792
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Terrence Gibbons was charged with theft by receiving and perjury for claiming ownership over a stolen jet ski and trailer, and having signed temporary permits. At trial, his defense was that he did not know the…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 57
Docket Number: 11SC935
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner and State Representative Debbie Benefield, and other current or former members of the Colorado House of Representatives, appealed the court of appeals' judgment which reversed the district court's order…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 60
Docket Number: 12SC235
Justia Opinion Summary: A search of respondent Joddy Carbajal's home led to the discovery of three firearms. Respondent had been previously convicted of a felony, and was charged with three counts of possession of a weapon by a previous…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 69
Docket Number: 12SC46
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Aaron Fain was charged with six counts of attempted murder, attempted first degree murder after deliberation and attempted first degree extreme indifference murder. He was also charged with drunk driving,…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 54
Docket Number: 12SC610
Justia Opinion Summary: The Division of Motor Vehicles (a section of the Department of Revenue), revoked petitioner Tom Francen's driver's license following a hearing whereby it was determined petitioner had operated a motor vehicle with a…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 55
Docket Number: 12SC788
Justia Opinion Summary: The Division of Motor Vehicles (a section of the Department of Revenue), revoked petitioner Andrew Hanson's driver's license following a hearing whereby it was determined petitioner refused a blood alcohol test in…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 58
Docket Number: 13SA91
Justia Opinion Summary: Sir Mario Owens and Robert Ray petitioned the Supreme Court in its original jurisdiction for relief from a series of discovery rulings of the district court in their respective death-penalty cases relating to…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 64
Docket Number: 13SC995
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented to the Colorado Supreme Court was whether summary judgment was ever appropriate in dependency and neglect adjudications involving prospective harm. The Court of Appeals held a trial court…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 62
Docket Number: 14SA116
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reviewed actions of the Title Board in setting titles and ballot title and submission clauses for initiatives 2013-2014 85, 86 and 87. Proponents complained that the titles did not contain one subject…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 63
Docket Number: 14SA121
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reviewed actions of the Title Board in setting titles and ballot title and submission clauses for initiatives 2013-2014 90 and 93. Proponents complained that the titles did not contain one subject or…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 66
Docket Number: 14SA126
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reviewed actions of the Title Board in setting title and ballot title and submission clauses for initiative 2013-2014 #89. Proponents complained that the titles did not contain one subject or that the…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 61
Docket Number: 14SA137
Justia Opinion Summary: After the Title Board set titles and submission clauses for Proposed Initiative 2013-2014 #103, petitioners moved for a rehearing, claiming the initiative contained more than one subject and was impermissibly vague. One…
Date: June 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 65
Docket Number: 14SA74
Justia Opinion Summary: In an interlocutory appeal, the State appealed a trial court order that suppressed statements defendant-appellee N.A.S. made to police. The trial court found that N.A.S. was in custody when he made the statements, he did…
Date: June 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 50
Docket Number: 13SA183
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Randy Kailey was charged with two counts of aggravated incest. After a jury trial, he was found guilty and ultimately sentenced to thirty-two years in jail. Kailey met with a psychologist employed by the…
Date: June 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 51
Docket Number: 13SA209
Justia Opinion Summary: The Colorado Supreme Court issues a rule to show cause to decide whether the district court in this case abused its discretion in holding that as a matter of law, section 12-36.5-104(10)(a), C.R.S. (2013) protected…
Date: June 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 52
Docket Number: 14SA105
Justia Opinion Summary: Proponents Mike Spaulding and Natalie Menten proposed Initiative 76 which sought to repeal and replace the existing manner of triggering and conducting a recall election under article XXI of the Colorado Constitution,…
Date: June 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 53
Docket Number: 14SA135
Justia Opinion Summary: Proponents Peter Coulter and Lisa Brumfiel proposed Initiative 129 to amend article X, section 20 of the Colorado Constitution, known as the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR). The Initiative sought to amend TABOR to…
Date: June 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 48
Docket Number: 11SC351
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted the State's petition for writ of certiorari to review the court of appeals' decision to vacate Carey Griffin's conviction for failure to register as a sex offender. After the Court granted…
Date: June 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 46
Docket Number: 11SC889
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Vasilios Haralampopoulos visited the emergency room with severe abdominal pain. After a CT scan revealed a large cystic mass in his liver, Petitioner Dr. Mauricio Waintrub examined Respondent, gave a…
Date: June 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 49
Docket Number: 12SC299
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented to the Supreme Court was whether the results of a preliminary breath test ("PBT") for blood alcohol content were admissible for impeachment purposes. When the defendant is charged with…
Date: June 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 44
Docket Number: 12SC783
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented to the Colorado Supreme Court centered on the lawfulness of Secretary of State Rule 4.1, 8 Colo. Code Regs. 1505-6:4.1 (2013). Petitioner Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler…
Date: June 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 47
Docket Number: 13SA102
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Robert Storlie argued the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to grant the district attorney's motion under Crim. P. 48(a) to dismiss the charges against him. In response, the respondent trial…
Date: June 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 45
Docket Number: 13SA97
Justia Opinion Summary: In October 2010, the prosecution charged Alan DeAtley, a Washington State resident, with twenty-five counts of white-collar criminal activity involving alleged fraudulent tax credits for land conservation easements in…
Date: June 2, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 43
Docket Number: 13SA276
Justia Opinion Summary: Jack Schaufele was involved in a motor vehicle accident that resulted in injuries to himself and others. While he lay unresponsive at the hospital, a police officer asked a nurse to draw Schaufele's blood for an alcohol…
Date: June 2, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 42
Docket Number: 13SA33
Date: May 27, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 40
Docket Number: 12SC1002
Justia Opinion Summary: A bicyclist was attacked by two ranch dogs herding sheep while participating in a mountain bike race. The cyclist and dogs were on federally owned land on which the attack took place, subject to a sheep grazing permit…
Date: May 27, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 37
Docket Number: 12SC104
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, the Town of Dillon enacted two municipal ordinances: one authorized a local road improvement project, and another concerning parking enforcement on a public right-of-way. Owners of the Yacht Club Condominiums…
Date: May 27, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 38
Docket Number: 12SC276
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Dallas Jeffrey Finney was charged with two counts of sexual assault-helpless victim and two counts of sexual assault-victim incapable. He entered into a series of plea agreements before a final agreement was…
Date: May 27, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 39
Docket Number: 13SA235
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Jay McIntyre's then ten-year-old niece accused him of sexually assaulting her on two separate occasions. In an interlocutory appeal, the State sought review of a trial court's order suppressing defendant's…
Date: May 27, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 41
Docket Number: 14SA18
Justia Opinion Summary: A man called "Rabbit" tried to strangle two people in a Boulder park. Witnesses identified the man to police. Plainclothes officers located "Rabbit," identified themselves as police, and asked him questions regarding the…
Date: May 19, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 32
Docket Number: 12SC543
Justia Opinion Summary: Before the Supreme Court in this case, two novel questions of Colorado law: (1) the interaction between various waiver provisions in the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (CGIA); and (2) whether the "recreation area…
Date: May 19, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 33
Docket Number: 12SC631
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this matter was one of first impression: whether an injury that occurred on a "zip line" on a public school playground met the requirements of the "recreation area waiver" of the…
Date: May 19, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 34
Docket Number: 12SC908
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented to the Supreme Court was one of first impression: whether the requirements of a statutory "recreation area waiver" can be met by a party injured in a public golf course's parking lot.…
Date: May 19, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 35
Docket Number: 14SA17
Justia Opinion Summary: The Board of Commissioners of the County of Teller filed a petition seeking the district court's review of the City of Woodland Park's annexation of certain real property. Upon review of the petition and the district…
Date: May 19, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 36
Docket Number: 14SA37
Justia Opinion Summary: In an interlocutory appeal, the issue this case presented to the Colorado Supreme Court was whether the trial court erred when it suppressed evidence that the police found in defendant-appellee Lynette Webb's purse. In a…
Date: May 12, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 29
Docket Number: 11SC165
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-appellant Dennis Sanchez appealed the court of appeals' judgment affirming his conviction for sexual assault on a child as part of a pattern of abuse. The trial court entered judgment of conviction for a class…
Date: May 12, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 30
Docket Number: 12SC501
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented to the Colorado Supreme Court was whether an individual was an independent contractor as opposed to an employee for unemployment tax liability purposes. Waterman Ormsby was a geologist…
Date: May 12, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 31
Docket Number: 12SC911
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Western Logistics, Inc. appealed the court of appeals' decision to affirm the Industrial Claim Appeals Office's decision that certain individuals were employees rather than independent contractors under…
Date: April 28, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 28
Docket Number: 13SA292
Justia Opinion Summary: Police arrested Jeffrey Knedler for allegedly assaulting two people. Days after the assault, officers contacted Knedler at a hair salon where he occasionally stayed. As they approached the salon, the officers observed…
Date: April 21, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 27
Docket Number: 12SC219
Justia Opinion Summary: Prosecutors alleged defendant Ricky Hoang instigated a home invasion robbery involving three others stealing jewelry and cash at gunpoint. Defendant was restrained with leg shackles during his jury trial over his…
Date: April 21, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 26
Docket Number: 13SA261
Justia Opinion Summary: Ascension Baez-Lopez, Jose Soto-Lopez and Juan Cantu-Bojorquez were indicted on counts of violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, and counts of conspiracy to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance. The…
Date: April 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 22
Docket Number: 11SC100
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed the Court of Appeals' reversal of defendant's convictions for theft by receiving and his sentence to three years' probation. The appellate court concluded the trial court abused its discretion in…
Date: April 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 25
Docket Number: 11SC441
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue for the Supreme Court's consideration in this case was the balance between a defendant's Sixth Amendment constitutional right to counsel of his or her choice and the public's interest in the fairness and…
Date: April 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 23
Docket Number: 11SC674
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed the Court of Appeals' reversal of defendant's convictions for first degree assault and first degree burglary, and his sentence of 28 years' imprisonment. The appellate court concluded the trial court…
Date: April 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 24
Docket Number: 13SA306
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was Election Rule 10.7.5, promulgated as a temporary or emergency rule on the evening of the November 5, 2013 election. Plaintiffs were registered electors of the Adams 12 Five Star School District…
Date: March 24, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 21
Docket Number: 11SC715
Justia Opinion Summary: Following defendant's conviction for manslaughter, the trial court delayed sentencing to await resolution of an unrelated felony charge. Defendant pled guilty to that felony. The manslaughter case thereafter proceeded to…
Date: March 24, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 20
Docket Number: 13SA60
Date: March 17, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 18
Docket Number: 10SC377
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed the court of appeals' judgments reversing convictions of the defendants in this case and "Colorado v. Vigil." In both cases, the appellate court applied a rule requiring automatic reversal for any…
Date: March 17, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 19
Docket Number: 11SC422
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed the court of appeals' reversal of defendant Matthew Alfaro's convictions on murder, burglary and attempted kidnapping charges. On direct appeal, the appellate court found that the trial court erred in…
Date: March 17, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 17
Docket Number: 12SC672
Justia Opinion Summary: The Colorado Division of Insurance initiated an investigation into Milton Trujillo's application to renew as a insurance producer license with bail bond authority. It later denied the application based on a complaint it…
Date: March 3, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 16
Docket Number: 10SC688
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case called for a determination of whether section 15-11-1106(2) C.R.S. (2013) required a court to reform a revocable option that was negotiated as part of a commercial contract…
Date: March 3, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 15
Docket Number: 12SC736
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case was one of first impression: whether a proposed amendment to the fire department's disciplinary system was subject to collective bargaining under the Charter of the City…
Date: February 24, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 14
Docket Number: 11SA309
Justia Opinion Summary: In a matter of first impression, the issue before the Supreme Court in this case called for an evaluation of the relationship between C.R.S. sections 17-22.5-101 and 17-22.5-403(1) (2013) of article 22.5, governing…
Date: February 24, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 13
Docket Number: 11SC235
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this matter centered on whether the appellate court applied the presumption of regularity when the it determined the jury did not receive correct jury forms. The trial court record…
Date: February 24, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 4M
Docket Number: 13SA148
Justia Opinion Summary: Following an election recount in the Town of Center, Maurice Jones and Citizen Center filed suit seeking to set aside the results of the recount. Jones argued that voters' right to ballot secrecy had been violated. The…
Date: February 18, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 12
Docket Number: 11SC720
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Ronald Grassi was involved in a single-car accident early one September morning. He suffered serious injuries, and his passenger was killed. Paramedics transported petitioner to a local hospital for treatment,…
Date: February 10, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 11
Docket Number: 13SA172
Justia Opinion Summary: The Honorable Robert Rand was publicly censured for violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Colorado Rules of Judicial Discipline. The Supreme Court found that Judge Rand engaged in undignified conduct (making…
Date: February 3, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 10
Docket Number: 10SC747
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case was whether the court of appeals erred in concluding that the trial court was not required to award presentence confinement credit against a jail term imposed as a…
Date: February 3, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 8
Docket Number: 11SC157
Justia Opinion Summary: The court of appeals rejected defendant Lessell Moore's challenge to the validity of his waiver of his right to testify, and upheld his conviction. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to determine whether the court of…
Date: February 3, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 6
Docket Number: 11SC289
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue before the Supreme Court in this case centered on whether the defendant in this case validly waived his right to a jury trial following the trial court's advisement that failed to substantially comply with…
Date: February 3, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 7
Docket Number: 12SC737
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent Helen Rodriguez injured herself after falling down a flight of stairs at work. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider whether an "unexplained" fall satisfied the "arising out of" employment…
Date: February 3, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 9
Docket Number: 13SA123
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Mark Steen was convicted on misdemeanor offenses. He challenged ordered issued by the county and district courts denying his motions to stay execution of his sentence pending appeal of those convictions. Upon…
Date: January 27, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 5
Docket Number: 11SC926
Justia Opinion Summary: Harman-Bergstedt, Inc. appealed the appellate court's decision to reverse an Industrial Claim Appeals Office decision disallowing respondent Elaine Loofbourrow's award of temporary disability benefits. The ICAO concluded…
Date: January 27, 2014
Citations: 2014 CO 4, 2014 CO 4M
Docket Number: 13SA148
Justia Opinion Summary: This case centered on the contested March 19, 2013 election in Center, Colorado. The district court set aside the results of the recall, ordered a new recall election, and allowed the recalled officials to continue until…
Date: January 13, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 3
Docket Number: 11SC59
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider whether accrued vacation and sick leave may be considered marital property subject to division under the Uniform Dissolution of Marriage Act (UDMA). The trial court…
Date: January 13, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 2
Docket Number: 12SC198
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1989, Alva Hickerson signed a ten-year promissory note payable to Vessels Oil and Gas Company. Under the terms of the note, the debt was due for full payment in 1999. The holder of the note sued in 2009 for collection…
Date: January 13, 2014
Citation: 2014 CO 1
Docket Number: 13SA216
Justia Opinion Summary: A Jefferson County Sheriff Deputy was transporting two juveniles from a court hearing. The two were seated in the rear of the transport van, handcuffed. En route, another driver allegedly turned into an intersection…
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