The Colorado Supreme Court issued two opinions from March 27-April 2. As of April 2, the court issued 14 opinions in 2023 — two fewer than this point a year ago. The two opinions are below:
- Colorado v. Madrid, the court remanded a first-degree murder and child abuse case for a new trial after determining “when a party has been provided with an adequate opportunity to present its race-neutral justifications at trial, it is barred from introducing new race-neutral justifications on remand.” The case asked the court to determine “whether a party could, on remand, raise a new race-neutral reason to justify a peremptory strike made at trial.”
- Antero Resources v. Airport Land Partners, where the court held that the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission lacked jurisdiction to resolve “bona fide disputes of contract interpretation and held that such a dispute exists where the parties disagree in good faith about the meaning or application of a relevant contract term.”
From March 27-April 2, state supreme courts issued 131 opinions nationally. The North Dakota Supreme Court issued the most with 17. State supreme courts in 18 states issued the fewest with zero. Courts where judges are elected have issued 82 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 49.
The Colorado Supreme Court is the state’s court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Brian Boatright. The court issued 61 opinions in 2022 and 59 in 2021. Nationally, state supreme courts issued 7,423 opinions in 2022 and 8,320 in 2021. The courts have issued 1,640 opinions in 2023. Courts where judges are elected have issued 904 opinions, while courts whose members are appointed have issued 736. Colorado is a Democratic trifecta, meaning Democrats control the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
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