11 results for 'judge:"Hart"'.
J. Hart finds misjoinder of criminal offenses is reviewed under "plain error" analysis and that, even if a trial court improperly allowed numerous charges to be tried at the same time, it is not a structural error that requires reversal of a defendant's convictions. In this case, while evidence of defendant's drug charges may have persuaded the jury he was inclined to commit crimes, the error was harmless as it pertained to his murder charge because of the overwhelming evidence in support of that charge, including that he went to his backpack to retrieve a gun before he shot the victim following a scuffle. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 2024CO26, Categories: Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Murder
J. Hart finds that the appeals court erroneously reinstated negligence claims filed by the cyclist because her failure to file the lawsuit within two years of her 18th birthday rendered the suit against the motorist who struck her untimely. Although the statute of limitations for a motor vehicle tort may be extended when the victim is under the age of 18, the three-year limit is not tolled in such cases and, therefore, the cyclist was required to bring her claims within three years of the accident or two years after she turned 18, neither of which she did. Reversed.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart, Filed On: April 8, 2024, Case #: 2024CO19, Categories: Civil Procedure, Negligence
J. Hart finds the juvenile court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress a loaded handgun found in his backpack during a warrantless search conducted at his school. The school's policy of conducting such searches as part of its individualized safety plan reduced defendant's expectation of privacy and rendered the search reasonable. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart, Filed On: March 25, 2024, Case #: 2024 CO 16, Categories: Juvenile Law, Search
J. Hart finds that although the parking garage is not fully enclosed and lacks HVAC equipment, the permanent nature of the structure and its inclusion of electricity and a surrounding wall qualifies it as a building under Colorado law, which prevents application of governmental immunity on the injured patron's premises liability claim. Additionally, the illusive nature of the surface that caused the patron's injuries was caused, at least in part, by the choice of resurfacing materials made during maintenance of the structure, which similarly prevents application of immunity for design defects; therefore, the patron's suit will proceed.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart, Filed On: February 5, 2024, Case #: 2024CO7, Categories: Government, Immunity, Premises Liability
J. Hart finds the undifferentiated fee clause in the attorney's employment contract that required him to pay a certain amount for each client that followed him when he left the law firm is a direct intrusion on the attorney-client relationship and violates the Colorado rules of professional conduct. Therefore, the clause is void under public policy. Affirmed in part.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart, Filed On: January 16, 2024, Case #: 2024CO1, Categories: Interference With Contract, Contract
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J. Hart finds the trial court improperly suppressed the results of blood testing prior to defendant's trial on DUI charges. The results were not yet available when it made its ruling, which was not supported by any credible evidence and was made before a trial date had been set. The testing lab, a state agency over which the prosecution has no control, had not yet provided the results at the time of the court's decision to suppress, which could only be made if evidence proved the delay was unreasonable. Reversed.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart, Filed On: October 23, 2023, Case #: 2023CO55, Categories: Evidence, Dui, Discovery
J. Hart finds that while the county has a legally protected interest in oil and gas wells in its boundaries, the lower court properly dismissed its claims against the Department of Public Health. The increase in inspections to prevent leaks and reduce emissions does not constitute a concrete injury and, therefore, the county lacks standing to bring its claims. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart, Filed On: October 16, 2023, Case #: 2023CO54, Categories: Civil Procedure, Environment, Jurisdiction
J. Hart finds that defendant's double jeopardy protections were not violated when he was tried for a murder after having been acquitted in Mexico. The cooperation of Colorado authorities in the Mexican prosecution did not bar the application of the dual-sovereignty doctrine to his prosecution in Colorado since the cooperation did not meet the threshold of control that would make the Mexican prosecution a tool of Colorado's jurisdiction. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart, Filed On: June 20, 2023, Case #: 21SC473, Categories: Murder, Double Jeopardy
J. Hart finds that the trial court properly dismissed a fisher's quiet title and declaratory relief claims to the riverbed of the Arkansas River for lack of standing. Both claims would require him to assert his own legally protected interest in the riverbed, but he instead relied on proof that the state owns the riverbed. Affirmed.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart, Filed On: June 5, 2023, Case #: 22SC119, Categories: Environment, Property, Water
J. Hart finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for driving while impaired. Though defendant had an identical case pending in another county, the second offense resolved in court first and was used as a prior conviction sentencing enhancement for the first offense. The Supreme Court of Colorado granted defendant’s petition to show cause, yet the plain language of the relevant statute does not require that conduct underlying a second-offense sentence predate conduct underlying the first offense. The rule to show cause is discharged.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart , Filed On: May 22, 2023, Case #: 23SA30, Categories: Sentencing, Dui, Vehicle
J. Hart finds that the trial court should have dismissed a forcible entry and detainer action, which a landlord filed based on the state 10-day notice provision for evictions. The federal 30-day notice requirement for Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher tenants that was enacted during the Covid-19 pandemic did not expire with the end of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
Court: Colorado Supreme Court, Judge: Hart, Filed On: May 15, 2023, Case #: 23SA34, Categories: Landlord Tenant, Covid-19