Colorado

No liability for movie theater owner in Colorado movie massacre, jury decides

A Colorado jury on Thursday found no liability on the part of a movie theater owner in a lawsuit over a shooting massacre at an Aurora premiere of the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises in 2012. Jurors deliberated only three or four hours before rejecting claims that more security…

May 19, 2016 5:00 PM CDT

First trial of movie theater owner over mass shooting at Batman premiere begins in Colorado

Two months before James Holmes killed 12 people and wounded dozens more in a shooting massacre at a premiere of the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises in suburban Denver, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a warning about the potential for such attacks. But the jury selected this…

May 10, 2016 12:25 PM CDT

Despite 2014 law, those who can’t pay court fines are still jailed: So Colorado lawmaker tries again

Originally, James Fisher was fined $703 in 2012 for twice violating Colorado open-container laws and being unable to provide proof of insurance. Since then, he has paid $1,500 and been jailed three times, when he couldn’t come up with money or failed to appear in court, he told a state…

Apr 27, 2016 12:50 PM CDT

After success of OJ Simpson series, competitors focus on JonBenet Ramsey and Menendez brothers

A popular television docudrama about the murder trial of O.J. Simpson has competitors cudgeling their brains for topics for similar projects about high-profile crimes from decades ago. So far, two such projects have been announced in the wake of the success of the FX show The People v. O.J. Simpson.…

Apr 12, 2016 11:00 AM CDT

Suit by laid-off lawyers says Reilly Pozner jettisoned 17 at law firm to avoid sharing $391M verdict

One of the top trial law firms in Colorado laid off 17 workers last year in order to avoid sharing with them a $391 million verdict they helped win a few months earlier, a lawsuit contends. Filed by husband-and-wife attorneys Wendy and Eric Fisher in Denver District Court, suit alleges…

Mar 30, 2016 4:45 PM CDT

Drought sheds light on the California’s water law deficiencies

It's a classic case of ignoring a problem until forced to face it. In the midst of a four-year drought, when the state had its lowest rainfall ever, California finally established a regulatory regime, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014, to control who gets what groundwater.

Mar 1, 2016 3:10 AM CST

Suspect and lawman dead in gun battle sparked when sheriff’s officers tried to serve eviction notice

A political activist accused of firing a rifle at three Colorado sheriff’s deputies as they arrived Wednesday morning to serve an eviction notice at his Bailey home is dead, along with one of the lawmen, authorities said. Martin Wirth, 58, also shot the two other deputies in the gunfight, inflicting…

Feb 24, 2016 4:00 PM CST

Daughter of slain Aspen socialite sues spouse of convicted murderer

Initially charged with first-degree murder in the 2014 death of an Aspen, Colorado, socialite, Nancy Masson-Styler spent several months behind bars. But all charges against her were dropped when her husband pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the slaying of Nancy Pfister. Then, after William Styler committed suicide in prison…

Feb 1, 2016 10:50 AM CST

Judge dismisses lawsuit seeking federal approval for credit union serving marijuana businesses

A credit union formed to serve Colorado’s legal marijuana industry has lost its bid for approval by the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. Fourth Corner Credit Union sued the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in July for turning down its application for the master account…

Jan 6, 2016 4:30 PM CST

Colorado man’s rape conviction vacated after 29 years in prison

A judge has vacated the conviction and sentence of a Colorado man who has spent 29 years in prison for a rape he claims he didn’t commit. Clarence Moses-EL, 60, could be freed on bail while prosecutors consider whether to retry him, the Associated Press, the Denver Post and television…

Dec 21, 2015 3:40 PM CST

Judge tosses felony case against pair who handed out jury nullification leaflets near courthouse

A Colorado judge has dismissed a felony prosecution for jury tampering against two men who handed out leaflets about jury nullification outside the Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse in Denver. Wednesday’s dismissal of the state court criminal case against Mark Iannicelli and Eric Brandt follows a federal court ruling in a civil rights…

Dec 16, 2015 4:30 PM CST

Planned Parenthood shooting suspect makes his first court appearance via video

The man accused in the mass shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was informed that he will be charged with first-degree murder when he made his first court appearance Monday afternoon via video link from jail, Reuters and the Associated Press report. Robert Lewis Dear, 57,…

Nov 30, 2015 5:10 PM CST

Top state court says litigation funding is subject to consumer lending law

A litigation finance company has lost its bid to persuade the Colorado Supreme Court that providing interim funding to allow a tort lawsuit to proceed is more like making an investment than making a loan. In a Monday decision (PDF), the state’s top court declined to issue a declaratory judgment…

Nov 17, 2015 4:50 PM CST

Colorado governor asks court to bar state AG from suing feds without his permission

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is asking the state supreme court to issue a legal declaration stating that the state attorney general can’t sue the federal government without his approval. Hickenlooper, a Democrat, cites three lawsuits in which the Republican attorney general, Cynthia Coffman, joined in suits against federal agencies without…

Nov 6, 2015 6:15 AM CST

Lawyer charged in marijuana operation case says state and federal laws ban prosecution

Arrested last year at his Denver law office, a Colorado attorney facing federal charges in connection with an alleged illegal marijuana operation says he shouldn’t be prosecuted. That’s because state law permits him to do what he did and a federal budget amendment bans the use of federal funds to…

Nov 3, 2015 1:55 PM CST