2012 CO 13

Supreme Court Case No. 10SC151
Certiorari to the Colorado Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Case No. 08CA79

Petitioner:
The People of the State of Colorado,
v.
Respondent:
Abel Gebre Laeke.

Judgment Reversed
en banc

Supreme Court of the State of Colorado
101 West Colfax Avenue, Suite 800 • Denver, Colorado 80202

District Court, City and County of Denver
District Court Case Nos. 11CV3461 and 11CV3463
Honorable Robert S. Hyatt, Judge

v.
Respondents:
Dominick Moreno; Christine Le Lait; William N. Patterson; Rita Mahoney; Roger Clark;
Kristi Matsunaka; Mikel Whitney; and Scott Gessler, in his official capacity as Colorado
Secretary of State;

and
Intervenors:

Board of County Commissioners of the County of Douglas, State of Colorado, a body
politic and corporate; City of Aurora; Mayor Edward J. Tauer, in his official capacity as
Mayor of the City of Aurora; Colorado Latino Forum, a Colorado non-profit
corporation; Colorado Hispanic Bar Association; a Colorado non-profit corporation; and
Bill Thiebaut.

CHIEF JUSTICE BENDERdelivered the Opinion of the Court.
JUSTICE COATS concurs in the judgment.
JUSTICE EIDdissents.

Supreme Court of the State of Colorado
101 West Colfax Avenue, Suite 800 • Denver, Colorado 80202

JUSTICE EID delivered the Opinion of the Court.
JUSTICE HOBBS dissents.
JUSTICE MÁRQUEZ does not participate.

PETITIONS FOR REHEARING 

No. 11SC128

Court of Appeals Case No. 06CA1615

Petitioner:

Terry Ricardo Gay,

v.

Respondent:

The People of the State of Colorado.

Petition for Writ of Certiorari DENIED. EN BANC.

CHIEF JUSTICE BENDER would grant as to the following issues:

Whether the court of appeals’ decision upholding the trial court’s admission of prior act evidence should be reversed because it is not in accord with Yusem v. People, 210 P.3d 458 (Colo. 2009) and Kaufman v. People, 202 P.3d 542 (Colo. 2009) concerning the third and fourth prongs of the Spoto test because:

1. Evidence that petitioner had been accused of an unrelated prior shooting that was not similar or distinctive other than being a shooting, was not relevant to the issue of identity of the shooter, the primary issue of consequence at trial, apart from the inference of bad character, and was unfairly prejudicial; and
2. Evidence that petitioner had been accused of an unrelated prior shooting, was not relevant to the issue of intent, apart from the inference of bad character, and was unfairly prejudicial.

Whether the court of appeals erred in concluding that the trial court’s erroneous admission of evidence as a prior inconsistent statement pursuant to C.R.E. 613 and section 16-10-201, C.R.S. was harmless.

Whether testimony by a police witness that witnesses to a crime usually do not testify consistent with their prior statements to police, offered shortly after the defense pointed out inconsistencies in statements by the prosecution’s star witness, amounts to an improper opinion that the witness is telling the truth.

Court of Appeals Case No. 09CA2556

Petitioner:

Paul Kozik,

v.

Respondents:

Allan L. Hale; Amanda Atkinson Bradley, a/k/a Amanda S. Atkinson; and Hale Friesen, LLP, f/k/a Hale Hackstaff Friesen, LLP.

Petition for Writ of Certiorari DENIED. EN BANC. JUSTICE BOATRIGHT does not participate.

Arapahoe County District Court Case No. 10CV731

Petitioner:

Joseph Montalbano,

v.

Respondent:

The People of the State of Colorado.

Petition for Writ of Certiorari DENIED. EN BANC.

Court of Appeals Case No. 08CA797

Petitioner:

Robert Eugene Tucker,

v.

Respondent:

The People of the State of Colorado.

Petition for Writ of Certiorari DENIED. EN BANC.

Court of Appeals Case Nos. 09CA2243 & 09CA2666

Petitioner:

Michelle L. Medina,

v.

Respondents:

Karen K. Darricau, M.D. and Forrest Brent Keeler, M.D.

Petition for Writ of Certiorari DENIED. EN BANC.

Court of Appeals Case No. 10CA609

Petitioners:

James Bailey; Nancy Bailey; Rhonda Busch-Morgan; Ronald Morgan; Gary Galloway; Judith Galloway; John Gorton; Karla Gorton; Howard Dwight Sanders; Linda Sanders; Robert Cordova; Carolyn Cordova; Tim Fink; Bruce Albert Berner; Barbara Filippone; Summer Haeske; and Francis Leintz;

v.

Respondents:

Henry Thomas Willison, individually; Linda Willison, individually; William Thompson, individually; Patricia Thompson, individually; Valley Commercial Plaza VCP 1, LLC d/b/a Valley Commercial Plaza; and Crystal Property Management.

Petition for Writ of Certiorari DENIED. EN BANC.

Court of Appeals Case No. 09CA1091

Petitioner:

Jorge Carrillo-Rojo,

v.

Respondent:

The People of the State of Colorado.

Petition for Writ of Certiorari DENIED. EN BANC.