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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
In a criminal case, the prosecution has the burden to prove all of the elements of the charged crime beyond a reasonable doubt. However, the prosecution is not allowed to use the testimony of the defendant to meet its burden. Moreover, the jury cannot draw any inferences based on whether or not the defendant has […]
On January 31, 2013, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled whether great-grandparents of a child have standing to request visitation under the Grandparent Visitation Statute, which is an increasingly prevalent area of family law. In this case, the child’s great-grandmother (grandmother of the child’s mother) requested visitation rights, which the child’s father opposed. Although the […]
Defendants in negligence lawsuits in Colorado used to be able to ask the jury to excuse their conduct when the defendant was confronted with a “sudden emergency,” such as a patch of ice in the road. Not anymore. In a victory for personal injury plaintiffs, the Colorado Supreme Court abolished the sudden emergency defense in […]
The Colorado court system has three basic levels of civil trial courts, each with its own jurisdictional limits and rules of procedure: (1) Small Claims Court; (2) County Court, and (3) District Court. Small Claims Court cases have a damages cap of $7,500, and generally do not allow attorneys to participate, unless the defendant chooses […]
Dog attack law suits are on the rise. Insurance companies paid out about $479 million for dog bite and dog attack claims in 2011, according to a recent study by the Insurance Information Institute. These claims are typically paid under homeowner’s liability policies. In addition, the average amount paid per claim has risen 54% since […]
The United States economy relies on commercial trucks to deliver 70% of all freight transported annually. There are 15.5 million commercial trucks on the roads in the United States and the transportation industry logs well over 4 billion miles every year. With the legal weight of an 18-wheel truck at 80,000 pounds and an average […]
