By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled for the first time on Thursday that even if a judge substantially reduces the amount of time a parent may spend with their child, it is not a “restriction” that requires a heightened justification.
A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals acknowledged that under its interpretation of the law, a judge could theoretically slash a parent’s time with their child to a single overnight visit a year without having to find the child’s health or development is endangered.
“In any event, if the General Assembly wishes to establish some threshold of purely quantitative change that would require more than merely being in the child’s best interests, it is of course free to do so,” wrote Judge Ted C. Tow III in the March 13 opinion.