Tag: Fifth Amendment
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In rare do-over, appeals court changes reasons for ordering new Denver assault trial
In an unusual move, Colorado’s second-highest court last month withdrew its opinion ordering a new trial for a man convicted of assault, then issued a new decision with heavily modified reasoning. Originally, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals overturned Amos Rogers’ criminal convictions and 64-year sentence in October. It reasoned a Denver trial judge improperly…
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‘This is how innocent people are convicted,’ defendant alleges wrongful conviction to Supreme Court
When police arrested Nora Hilda Rios-Vargas for the burglary of a Weld County trailer home where someone had stolen $15,000 in jewelry and $3,000 in coins, there was only one definitive piece of evidence linking her to the crime scene: shards of a bloody latex glove with her DNA on it. At the same time,…
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Appeals court finds district attorney violated defendant’s rights with comments
A prosecutor in Morgan County crossed the line by implying a defendant was guilty because he chose to exercise his constitutional right to stay silent, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week. The Fifth Amendment protects a criminal defendant’s right against self-incrimination, and it is part of the Miranda warning a suspect receives in custody. The…
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Fractured Supreme Court finds Adams County defendant did not invoke right to counsel in custody
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save In an unusual decision on Tuesday, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that a criminal defendant did not clearly invoke his constitutional right to an attorney during a police interrogation, even though a majority of the justices actually believed the opposite was true. The appeal…