Colorado

Intersex navy veteran sues over US passport denial

An intersex U.S. Navy veteran who lives in Fort Collins has filed a federal lawsuit against Secretary of State John Kerry and a Colorado state official. It alleges that they violated the plaintiff’s constitutional rights by refusing to issue a U.S. passport to a person who cannot accurately claim to…

Oct 26, 2015 2:20 PM CDT

Woman survives accident after 6 days trapped in car, gets recall notice and sues GM

Kristin Hopkins survived an accident that left her trapped in her upside-down vehicle in freezing conditions for nearly six days last year. Finally a passer-by happened to spot her, some 140 feet off the road, at the bottom of a wooded embankment. However, she had to have both legs amputated…

Oct 26, 2015 12:15 PM CDT

Pot grower violated implied warranty of merchantability by using unapproved pesticide, suit alleges

Colorado’s largest marijuana grower is facing a lawsuit filed by two medical marijuana users who allege the company used an unapproved pesticide on its plants. The plaintiffs, Brandan Flores and Brandie Larrabee, claim LivWell Inc. used the pesticide Eagle 20, which breaks down to “poisonous hydrogen cyanide” when burned, report…

Oct 9, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Man convicted of robbing, raping and murdering lawyer in her office gets life term

Convicted in August of posing as a client in order to rob, rape and murder a Colorado attorney in her law office, Warren Dale Watson has been sentenced to a life prison term without parole. Evidence presented at trial showed Watson had sought out a female family law attorney in…

Oct 1, 2015 3:00 PM CDT

DA should have charged deputy in court assault on inmate, judge says, but it’s too late to do so now

A seemingly unprovoked attack on a shackled Colorado inmate by a sheriff’s deputy in a Denver courtroom should have resulted in a misdemeanor assault charge against the deputy, a state court judge said Friday. But the ruling by Chief Judge Michael Martinez of Denver District Court in the unusual hearing…

Sep 14, 2015 9:10 AM CDT

Judge to DA: Explain why deputy wasn’t prosecuted over courtroom use of force on chained inmate

Hours before the three-year statute of limitations is set to expire, a Colorado judge has ordered the Denver district attorney to appear in court on Friday to explain why a sheriff’s deputy wasn’t prosecuted for slamming an inmate into a courtroom window frame. The September 2012 incident involving Anthony Waller…

Sep 10, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

Shooter James Holmes gets 12 life terms plus 3,318 years in Batman movie massacre

Saying that James Holmes “quit on life” and has himself as well as his mental illness to blame for a movie-theater massacre that left 12 dead and 70 more wounded, a Colorado judge on Wednesday gave him the maximum. In addition to 12 consecutive life terms, Judge Carlos Samour Jr.…

Aug 26, 2015 1:50 PM CDT

Ex-con is found guilty of murder of Colorado lawyer; he sought an attorney victim, DA says

An ex-convict has been found guilty of raping and killing a Colorado lawyer during his first meeting with her. Warren Dale Watson was convicted on Tuesday in the death of Lakewood, Colorado, lawyer Claudia Miller, report the Denver Post and Law Week Colorado. He was on parole for a felony…

Aug 26, 2015 8:31 AM CDT

Advocacy group sues Denver over courthouse leafleting arrests

A nonprofit advocacy group is suing the city and county of Denver, Colorado, over the arrest last month of two individuals on felony charges as they were distributing literature about jury service at the area’s main criminal courthouse. At issue are efforts by the Fully Informed Jury Association and others…

Aug 20, 2015 9:30 AM CDT

First Amendment doesn’t protect baker who refused wedding cake to gay couple, appeals court says

A Christian cake baker in Lakewood, Colorado, has lost an appeal that claimed he had a First Amendment right to refuse to provide a cake for a gay couple to celebrate their wedding. The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that baker Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop had an obligation to…

Aug 14, 2015 7:31 AM CDT

Holdout juror blocks death penalty for James Holmes

A holdout juror blocked the death penalty for convicted movie theater shooter James Holmes, according to a lawyer who served on the Colorado jury. The lawyer, who refused to give her name, said one juror was a solid holdout because of evidence of Holmes’ mental illness, and two were undecided,…

Aug 10, 2015 7:04 AM CDT

Jury in case over Batman movie-theater slayings quickly decides not to rule out death penalty

It took little time for the jury who convicted James Holmes last month of killing 12 people and injuring 70 more during a 2012 shooting at a Batman movie screening to take the next step toward imposing the death penalty. On Monday, the Colorado jury found that mitigating factors did…

Aug 3, 2015 4:35 PM CDT

New credit union seeking to serve pot businesses sues after an adverse decision

A credit union created to handle money from Colorado’s pot businesses is suing after a Federal Reserve Bank refused to open a master account that the financial institution needs to operate. South Carolina litigator Mark Mason sued on Thursday on behalf of the Fourth Corner Credit Union. The defendants in…

Jul 31, 2015 1:35 PM CDT

Live-in nannies in au pair program are paid about $4 an hour because of collusion, suit alleges

A suit filed by a Colorado nonprofit claims that government-selected au pair organizations are colluding to keep wages at $4.35 an hour for young people who come to the United States to serve as nannies in the program. The suit was filed in Colorado federal court in November by lawyers…

Jul 24, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

Jury finds James Holmes eligible for death penalty in Batman movie-theater massacre

In the initial phase of a post-conviction sentencing hearing, the same Colorado jury that found James Holmes guilty last week of shooting 12 people to death at a Batman movie premiere in 2012 have also found him eligible for the death penalty. Now the jury must decide whether to impose…

Jul 23, 2015 4:30 PM CDT