Spousal maintenance, previously referred to as alimony, has become a hotly debated family law issue across the country in recent years. Now Colorado is taking its turn as the General Assembly is currently debating a bill setting forth a formulaic calculation for maintenance awarded at permanent orders, which “suggests” both the amount and duration of the maintenance award. If enacted, this statute would have considerable clout in determining maintenance awards because,
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In Florida v. Jardines, the United States Supreme Court recently held that an investigation of a defendant’s home by a drug sniffing dog does not constitute a permissible search under the 4th Amendment. In that case, the police had received an unverified tip that marijuana was being grown at the defendant’s home. The police approached the home to investigate with a drug-sniffing dog, but without a warrant. Although the police did
On March 18, 2013, Governor Hickenlooper signed into law the Civil Unions Bill, which goes into effect May 1, 2013, making Colorado the 9th state to allow civil unions. Some people believe the term “civil union” is synonymous with “marriage,” but they are actually quite different. The differences include the availability of Federal benefits such as FMLA and Social Security survivor benefits; various State and Federal tax implications; whether the union
Recent litigation surrounding the deaths of two young skiers as a result of inbounds avalanches last year at Vail and Winter Park has prompted two separate Colorado District Courts to issue conflicting opinions as to whether an inbounds avalanche is an “inherent risk” of skiing pursuant to the Colorado Skier Safety Act. On January 22, 2012, 13-year old Taft Conlin was killed by an inbounds avalanche while skiing at Vail. His
On February 4, 2013, the Colorado Supreme Court struck down the city of Black Hawk’s controversial bicycle ban within the city’s limits. Black Hawk had enacted the ban in 2010 due to the rising number of commercial buses and increase in traffic in the gambling town, which has numerous narrow, shoulderless roads. The ban did not apply to locals bicycle commuters.
Black Hawk’s bicycle ban had forced cyclists to walk their
