Source: https://cbaclelegalconnection.com/2014/01/13/
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 08:55:30+00:00

Document:
Colorado lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 8 to start the Second Regular Session of the 69th General Assembly. Per our constitution, the legislative session will run for 120 days and conclude no later than May 7, 2014.
Morgan Carroll (D-Aurora) was selected as Senate President and Rollie Heath (D-Boulder) will serve as Senate Majority Leader.
In the House, Mark Waller (R-Colorado Springs) stepped down as Minority Leader to focus on his bid for Attorney General. Rep. Brian DelGrosso (R-Loveland) was selected by his peers to serve as the new Minority Leader.
The majority in the House remained unchanged with the Democrats enjoying a 37–28 majority; one member resigned and her replacement was named by a vacancy committee. Veteran legislator Claire Levy stepped down from here seat to take on the role of Executive Director of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy. K.C. Becker was selected by her district’s vacancy committee to serve the remainder of Rep. Levy’s term. Rep. Becker (D-Boulder) served on Boulder’s Planning Board before being elected to a four-year term of the Boulder city council in November 2009.
At its Dec. 13 meeting, the LPC voted to approve several amendments suggested by the Trust & Estate Section for inclusion of a Probate Code Omnibus legislation. Those proposed amendments now are bar sponsored and will be highlighted in detail once the bill is introduced.
Stay tuned for House and Senate bills of interest.
On Monday, January 13, 2014, the Colorado Supreme Court issued three published opinions.
The Colorado Supreme Court issued its opinion in In re Young v. Jefferson County Sheriff on Monday, January 13, 2014.
Immunity for Law Enforcement Officers Transporting Juveniles—CRS § 19-2-508(7).
In this original CAR 21 proceeding, the Supreme Court held that the trial court erred in finding that allegations of negligence alone are sufficient to overcome the statutory grant of immunity and the presumption of good faith afforded to law enforcement officers pursuant to CRS § 19-2-508(7). Accordingly, a party seeking to rebut the presumption of good faith in § 19-2-508(7) must allege something more than negligence.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals published its opinion in Mays v. Colvin on Wednesday, January 8, 2014.
Rebecca Mays appealed from a district court order affirming the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) denial of her application for disability benefits. In assessing the residual functional capacity at step four, the ALJ found a residual functional capacity that allowed Mays to perform a full range of sedentary work. In making this finding, the ALJ found that the opinion of Mays’ treating physician, Dr. Chorley, was not consistent with the objective medical evidence.
Mays claimed that the SSA failed to provide a complete administrative record. Dr. Chorley changed his assessment of residual functional capacity, but the new version was mistakenly omitted in the eventual administrative record. Ms. Mays contends that the omission entailed a denial of due process and left the eventual findings without substantial evidence. The Tenth Circuit concluded that no due-process violation took place because Mays had not shown a likelihood of a different result if the ALJ had addressed Dr. Chorley’s amended report.
The court also rejected Mays’s argument that the ALJ also failed to properly analyze the medical-source evidence and affirmed.
On Friday, January 10, 2014, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued no published opinions and three unpublished opinions.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals published its opinion in United States v. Toledo on Tuesday, January 7, 2013.
Defendant-Appellant Dhanzasikam Toledo appealed from his conviction of voluntary manslaughter. Although the district court instructed the jury on second degree murder and voluntary manslaughter, it denied Toledo’s request for self-defense and involuntary manslaughter instructions. After an argument, Toledo’s uncle lunged at him across a barbed wire fence that separated their two properties and Toledo stabbed him.
The Tenth Circuit held it was an abuse of discretion to deny Toledo’s request for a self-defense instruction because there was evidentiary support for the instruction when the defendant’s testimony was taken into consideration.
The court also held the denial of an involuntary manslaughter instruction was error. A reasonable jury could could conclude that Toledo’s actions were a reasonable response to the threat he perceived from his uncle. Given that, the evidence also could support another conclusion—that his actions, though taken in self-defense, were less than reasonable and amounted to criminal negligence. In that case, involuntary manslaughter would be a proper finding.
The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals published its opinion in Myers v. Koopman on Wednesday, January 8, 2013.
The court denied the appellee’s Petition for Panel Rehearing but sua sponte amended its December 20, 2013 decision, nunc pro tunc, by removing a footnote sentence. The former decision was summarized here.
On Thursday, January 9, 2014, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals issued no published opinions and five unpublished opinions.

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