Connecting You to the Latest in Colorado Law : : Colorado Bar Association Continuing Legal Education
The Seventh Judicial District Nominating Commission has nominated one candidate for a Montrose County Associate Court judgeship created by the retirement of the Honorable Diana Barber, effective April 30, 2012.
Nominee Julie Huffman of Montrose was selected on Wednesday, May 23.
Under the Colorado Constitution, Governor Hickenlooper has until June 8 to appoint the nominee to the position of county court judge for the Montrose County Associate Court.
On Thursday, the Colorado Court of Appeals issued three published opinions and forty-three unpublished opinions.
Published
Hendricks v. Allied Waste Transp., Inc.
Summaries of published cases are forthcoming, courtesy of The Colorado Lawyer.
Neither State Judicial nor the Colorado Bar Association provides case summaries for unpublished appellate opinions. The case announcement sheet is available here.
The Solo/Small Firm Section networking meetings are a great opportunity to connect with your peers, as well as a practice management and technology discussion forum. The meetings are open to all CBA members, not just members of the Solo/Small Firm Section, the sponsoring entity. Some offer CLE credits, although sometimes there is no formal agenda, and no RSVP is required to attend any of the meetings. You are encouraged to think about and prepare questions or ideas to present to the group. Don’t hesitate to e-mail a meeting coordinator to suggest a CLE topic and/or speaker!
Dates are subject to change; however, they will occur as scheduled unless prior notice has been sent to the Section membership via e-mail. Please check this website on a regular basis.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals published its opinion in United States v. Cartwright on Wednesday, May 23, 2012.
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s sentence. Petitioner was convicted of being a felon in possession of ammunition. “The probation office prepared a Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) that classified [Petitioner], based on three prior Oklahoma burglary convictions, as an armed career criminal subject to a 15-year minimum sentence under the ACCA. [Petitioner] objected to that classification, arguing two of the three identified crimes did not qualify as ‘burglary convictions’ within the meaning of § 924 [of the ACCA]. The district court overruled [Petitioner]’s objections to the PSR and sentenced him accordingly. [Petitioner] appealed, asking [the Tenth Circuit] to decide two questions: (1) whether an Oklahoma second-degree burglary conviction based on entry into a building by an instrument capable of completing the intended crime qualifies as a ‘burglary’ under the ACCA and, (2) whether a nolo contendere plea to another Oklahoma second-degree burglary conviction qualifies as a ‘conviction’ under the ACCA.”
The Court found that Petitioner’s illegal entry with a tool or instrument is encompassed by the definition of generic burglary under the ACCA. Additionally, Petitioner’s nolo contendere plea constitutes a predicate offense and the Government has met its burden of showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Petitioner’s prior conviction constitutes a “violent felony.” As such, because the Government has shown that Petitioner has three prior violent felony convictions for purposes of the ACCA, the decision of the district court was affirmed.
On Wednesday, May 23, 2012, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued one published opinion and three unpublished opinions.
United States v. Maldonado-Ortega
No case summaries are provided for unpublished opinions. However, published opinions are summarized and provided by Legal Connection.
CBA-CLE is hosting a special free presentation on June 18, 2012 by Greg Hobbs, Colorado author, historian, and Supreme Court Justice. Justice Hobbs has a special passion for the West, all things related to water, and life in general. He’ll be speaking on two of his books: Living the Four Corners: Colorado, Centennial State at the Headwaters and, his newest book, Into the Grand. The stories encompass his experiences throughout the years of his exploration of the West and beyond.
“I like writing, reading the writing of others, and traveling through the imaginative landscape of this great country with family, friends, maps, and guides we meet along the way. The heart of this little book embraces a series of travel adventures with my wife Bobbie, starting with our Peace Corps service in Colombia in the mid-sixties and extending through my travels with grandson K.J. to grand places of our country’s legacy and future. The poems and prose poems are way markers and cairns.”
This is the second in a series of the Water 2012 Book Club and the Book Club organizers are featuring a book each quarter of 2012. Refreshments will also be provided.
It’s a special treat to hear Justice Hobbs speak and get inspired by his enthusiasm for Colorado, family, and life.
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The United States District Court of the District of Colorado has revised its Local Rules of Practice, which originally went into effect on December 1, 2011. Since then, revisions have been made to Appendix C, Appendix J, and Appendix K. The updated appendices can be reviewed below.
On Tuesday, May 22, 2012, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued no published opinions and seven unpublished opinions.
Sisneros v. Office of Pueblo County Sheriff
Turner v. Kansas Dep’t of Corrs.
United States v. Ibarra-Vergara
Kiker v. Community Health Systems Professional Services Corp.
No case summaries are provided for unpublished opinions. However, published opinions are summarized and provided by Legal Connection.
Governor Hickenlooper continues to sign bills that cross his desk. To date, he has signed over 200 bills into law.
Eight bills were signed by the governor on May 11, 2012. Three of them are summarized here.
On Tuesday, May 15, Governor Hickenlooper signed one bill into law, which bill is summarized here.
Governor Hickenlooper signed five bills into law on Thursday, May 17, 2012, including HB 12-1238, the READ Act to promote early childhood literacy. This bill and two others are summarized below.
Three more bills were signed into law on Friday, May 19, 2012. These are summarized here.
On Saturday, May 19, 2012, Governor Hickenlooper signed three more bills into law as he traveled throughout the state. These bills are:
Finally, five more bills were signed by the Governor as he journeyed to Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction on Monday, May 21. Two of these are summarized here.
A complete list of Governor Hickenlooper’s legislative decisions is available here.
On Monday, May 21, 2012, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued no published opinions and eight unpublished opinions.
Terry v. R.R. Retirement Board
United States v. Anderson, Sr.
No case summaries are provided for unpublished opinions. However, published opinions are summarized and provided by Legal Connection.
The First Judicial District Nominating Commission will meet at the Jefferson County Courthouse on Wednesday, June 27, 2012, to interview and select nominees for appointment by Governor Hickenlooper to the office of County Judge for Jefferson County. The vacancy will be created by the retirement of the Honorable John A. DeVita II on August 31.
Eligible applicants for appointment to fill the vacancy must be qualified electors of Jefferson County and must be admitted to the practice of law in Colorado. Applications must be received by Monday, June 11. The appointed county court judge will serve an initial provisional term of two years before facing a retention election. If retained in the general election, judges serve four-year terms.
On Friday, May 18, 2012, Governor John Hickenlooper announced his appointment of Judith LaBuda to serve as a district court judge in the Twentieth Judicial District, which serves Boulder County. LaBuda will fill a vacancy created by the retirement of the Honorable James C. Klein on June 30.
LaBuda, of Niwot, currently serves as the Senior Assistant Attorney General at the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, where she is general counsel to the Division of Insurance, Commissioner of Insurance, and the State Personnel Board. Previously, LaBuda spent 18 years practicing family law.
LaBuda earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her law degree from the University of Colorado Law School.
CBA CLE Legal Connection is published by Colorado Bar Association CLE (also known as CLE in Colorado, Inc.). It is focused on delivering timely resources, updates and continuing legal education to … [Read More...]
Solo Tip Tuesday: Move Outlook Emails to Your Hard Drive with Acrobat
This week, I’ve created a video tutorial to demonstrate how to use Adobe Acrobat to move emails out of Microsoft Outlook onto your hard drive. Click here to read more.
Water 2012 Program: Justice Greg Hobbs