Colorado Supreme Court To Hear Cases At Local High School

DENVER, CO – Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court will allow high school students (and the public) a peek at the workings of the highest court in the state on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, at Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch. The court will hear oral arguments in two cases as part of the Colorado Judicial Branch's outreach program, Courts in the Community.

The program is meant to give Colorado high school students a glimpse of the judicial system and "illustrate how disputes are resolved in a democratic society," according to a press release. "These are not mock proceedings. The court will hear arguments in actual cases from which it will issue opinions," the statement said. However, students won't see an immediate Judge Judy ruling. The Supremes work slowly, issuing their opinions within a few months of the arguments.

What are the cases? The first involves a neighbor dispute over a 70-foot catalpa tree that extends into two properties.

16SC815, Keith Love and Shannon Love v. Mark Klosky and Carole Bishop: The Loves and Kloskys live next door to each other, and a 70-foot catalpa tree straddles their mutual property line. Neither couple planted the tree, which the Kloskys want to cut down. The Loves, however, enjoy the tree and want to protect it, so they filed suit in Denver District Court to prevent the tree’s destruction, arguing they had jointly cared for it with the Kloskys. A trial court, however, found the Loves’ care for the tree was not enough to constitute joint care, and concluded a 1966 Supreme Court ruling required it to allow the Kloskys to cut down the tree. The trial court stayed its ruling, preserving the tree pending appeals. The Loves asked the Colorado Court of Appeals to review the trial court’s decision, and that court affirmed, with two members of the three-judge panel explaining why the Supreme Court might want to review the case to reconsider its decision in the 1966 case. The Supreme Court then granted the Loves’ request to review the case.

The two cases are:

The second involves a DUI arrest and whether a driver passed out in a vehicle may be charged with attempted reckless manslaughter and attempted second-degree assault.

· 15SC448, People of the State of Colorado v. Isidore A. Griego: The Colorado Supreme Court agreed to review Isidore Griego’s convictions for attempted reckless manslaughter and attempted second-degree assault to determine whether somebody who drives drunk but does not place a particular person, as opposed to the public at large, at substantial risk for likely death or serious bodily injury can be guilty of attempted manslaughter and attempted assault. Mr. Griego was arrested in 2005 and 2006. In 2005, Mr. Griego drove at night without putting his headlights on, and when an officer tried to pull him over, Mr. Griego began driving erratically. In 2006, an officer found him passed out behind the wheel of his car in the middle of an intersection with the engine running and the transmission in drive. On both occasions, Mr. Griego, who had previously been arrested for six alcohol-related driving offenses, had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. In the trial court, Mr. Griego unsuccessfully asked the court to dismiss the charges, arguing the charges were improperly broad as applied to his case because there were no specific victims identified. Mr. Griego appealed, and the Colorado Court of Appeals reversed his convictions in a 2-1 decision after agreeing with his argument that prosecutors failed to prove he placed any specific person at risk based on his actions. The prosecution appealed that reversal to the Supreme Court.

The proceedings will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017 in the auditorium at Mountain Vista High School, 10585 Mountain Vista Ridge, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126. Students and the public may participate in a Q&A session after each case.

All seven justices hear cases together. They are Chief Justice Nancy E. Rice and Justices Nathan B. Coats, Allison H. Eid, Monica M. Márquez, Brian D. Boatright, William W. Hood III and Richard L. Gabriel.

Image via Colorado Supreme Court