Pleading Strickland Prejudice to Obtain Appointed Rule 35(c) Counsel: Conclusory DNA-Ineffectiveness Claims Are “Wholly Unfounded” Case: Townsell v. People, 2026 CO 11, 585 P.3d 838 (Colo. 2026)...
Noncustodial Requests for Counsel Do Not Trigger Edwards—Even After a Miranda Advisement Attempt Case: The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado v. Dakotah J. LULEI, 586 P.3d 184 (Colo. 2026) (2026 CO 17)...
Per-Facility Statistical Counts of Child-Abuse Hotline Reports Are Disclosable Under CORA Despite § 19-1-307(1)(a) Confidentiality Case: Brubaker v. Colorado Sun, 2026 CO 18 (Colo. Mar. 30, 2026)...
Guilty Verdict Stands Despite “No Deadly Weapon” Crime-of-Violence Interrogatory When It Does Not Negate an Element and the Jury’s Intent Is Discernible (People v. Shockey) I. Introduction In People...
Competency First: A Defendant Must Be Competent Before Undergoing a § 16-8-107(3)(b) Mental-Condition Examination Case: The People of the State of Colorado v. Maria Laida Day Citation: People v. Day,...
Competency Is a Prerequisite to a § 16-8-107(3)(b) Mental-Condition Examination I. Introduction In People v. Day, 585 P.3d 857, 2026 CO 16, the Colorado Supreme Court addressed the procedural gateway...
Competency as a Prerequisite to § 16-8-107(3)(b) Mental-Condition Examinations Introduction In People v. Maria Day, the Colorado Supreme Court confronted a recurring tension in criminal practice:...
People v. Torres (2026 CO 15): “Nah” Plus Continued Engagement Is an Ambiguous Silence Invocation; Accurate Consequence-Talk and Truthfulness Appeals Are Not Coercion Court: Colorado Supreme Court...
People v. McGee: Probable Cause Requires Arrest-Specific Identifiers—Generic Matching Descriptions Cannot Supply the Nexus I. Introduction People v. Austin Rhys McGee (2026 CO 14) arose from an...
Single-Subject Rule: A TABOR Fee-Vote Initiative Cannot Also Redefine “Fee” Statewide I. Introduction In Proposed Initiative 2025-2026 #158, 2026 CO 13, the Colorado Supreme Court reviewed—through an...
People v. Torres (2026 CO 15): “Nah” Plus Continued Engagement Is an Ambiguous Non-Invocation; Consequence-Talking and Cooperation Appeals Are Not Coercion I. Introduction In The PEOPLE of the State...
Colorado Single-Subject Rule: Redefining “Fee” Statewide Is a Separate Subject from Requiring Voter Approval of High-Revenue Fees (Initiative #158) Case: In the MATTER OF the TITLE, BALLOT TITLE, AND...
People v. McGee (2026 CO 14): Probable Cause Requires Arrest-Triggering Descriptors to Specifically Identify the Suspect I. Introduction In The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado v. Austin Rhys MCGEE,...
Bright-Line Rule: Criminal Violation of a Protection Order Qualifies as the Predicate “Crime Against Another Person or Property” for Second Degree Burglary Case: People v. Dilka, 2026 CO 12, 25SA187...
Bright-Line Predicate Rule: Criminal Violation of a Protection Order Qualifies as a “Crime Against Another Person or Property” for Second-Degree Burglary Case: People v. Dilka, 584 P.3d 564 (Colo....
Townsell v. People (2026 CO 11): Nonconclusory Strickland-Prejudice Pleading Required to Trigger Appointment of Postconviction Counsel Under Crim. P. 35(c) 1) Introduction In Townsell v. People, 2026...
Deadly-Weapon Crime-of-Violence Interrogatory Does Not Nullify a Second-Degree Murder Conviction Absent Elemental Conflict I. Introduction In People v. Shockey, 2026 CO 10, the Colorado Supreme Court...
Waste-Prevention Statutes in Title 37 Create No Private Cause of Action and Do Not Confer Water-Court Jurisdiction Over Flooding Torts 1. Introduction In Byers Peak Properties, LLC v. Byers Peak Land...
County-Court Anti-SLAPP Final Judgments Are Not Appealable to the Colorado Court of Appeals 1. Introduction Hinds v. Foreman, 2026 CO 9 addresses a structural question of Colorado appellate...
Selective Prosecution in Colorado: “Similarly Situated” Is Fact-Intensive, and General Statistics Alone Rarely Prove Discriminatory Effect or Purpose I. Introduction In Mitchell v. People, 2026 CO 8,...