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Tag: Judicial Discretion

He posted $250,000 in cash and fled. Colorado released him on a promise.
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

He posted $250,000 in cash and fled. Colorado released him on a promise.

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Do Colorado courts ignore fugitive warrants for sex offenders just like they do ICE detainers? I wrote a bit back about Colorado’s sanctuary policy and ICE detainers. To see that earlier op ed, click the first link below. The second link below, a Cowboy State Daily (WY) article about a sex offender being released on a PR bond, struck me as a good follow up to the earlier one about ICE. Not so much because the sex offender was here illegally, but because it touches on some of the same things: being released on bond, confusion about detaining someone, and/or Colorado’s seeming unwillingness to honor some warrants/hold requests. Let’s talk the story first. In my earlier op ed, I outlined the process that happ...
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Buyers walk free, survivors carry the scars: Colorado debates sentencing for child traffickers
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Buyers walk free, survivors carry the scars: Colorado debates sentencing for child traffickers

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Colorado lawmakers confronted a question this week that has lingered for years under the gold dome: how far should the state go in punishing those who buy and traffic children? Two bills offered two different answers. Senate Bill 26-015 cleared Senate Judiciary on a 6–1 vote and was referred, as amended, to Appropriations. Senator Nick Hinrichsen cast the lone “no.” HB26-1082 went the other direction. Representative Scott Bottoms’ bill would have required life without parole in certain cases involving trafficked minors. It stalled in the House Judiciary Committee. No one in the room disputed the harm. That wasn’t the fight. The debate centered on sentencing, and whether judges should still have ro...
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When gun rights depend on the judge: New study reveals disparities in DVPO cases
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, National

When gun rights depend on the judge: New study reveals disparities in DVPO cases

By Cory Gaines | Colorado Accountability Project Disparities in court orders for DVPO's Federal law prohibits the possession or purchase of firearms for certain people who have domestic violence protection orders (DVPO). Some states go further and require anyone who is subject to such an order to relinquish their firearms for the duration of the order. The study linked first below takes a look at the results of a Washington State law (which is one of the states which requires a respondent in a DVPO case to relinquish their firearms) and compares the outcomes of court cases to race. Quoting the abstract: "Historically, U.S. laws and institutions have privileged White men with firearm access over minoritized individuals, but little is known about whether racial disparities...
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