October 23, 1996 Update from Jury Rights
Laura Kriho was tried for contempt of court for allegedly deliberating "improperly" when she served on a jury. Laura's two day bench trial ended on October 2, 1996. In a surprise decision, First District Chief Judge Henry Nieto asked defense attorney Paul Grant and deputy DA Jim Stanley to submit legal briefs explaining the applicable law. Judge Nieto said he would review the briefs and set a date for Laura to appear in court to hear the verdict.
The briefs were filed on October 9. Since then, Judge Nieto has given no indication on when he will issue his ruling. It seems we have a "hung judge". It is possible the judge is waiting until after the election to issue a ruling. None of the judges associated with Laura's case are up for retention, however there is a District Attorney's race. Incumbent Dave Thomas (D) is running against Guy Heyl (R). It might be a political liability for DA Thomas if Laura were pronounced guilty with less than 2 weeks before the election. It might be safer for them to wait. However, the judge could set a date for the verdict at any moment.
As soon as the date for the court date has been set, we will inform everyone immediately by email. We would like to have a lot of people come up to Gilpin County Courthouse to hear the verdict. So keep in touch! In the meantime, we are still requesting concerned citizens write letters to the editor about Laura's case. It is important to educate people about the rights of jurors as well as the vindictive nature of Laura's prosecution.
Laura and her attorney want to thank everyone for all their support and help on this case. It's great to know that there are so many wonderful people out there who care.
Here is a list of newspapers; most have e-mail but some do not.
***** Daily Newpapers ******
Denver Post
1560 Broadway
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: (303) 820-1010
Fax: (303) 820-1369
Email: letters@denverpost.com
Rocky Mt. News
400 W. Colfax
Denver, CO 80204
Phone: (303) 892-5000
Fax: (303) 892-5499
Email: letters@denver-rmn.com
Daily Camera
P.O. Box 591
Boulder, CO 80306
Phone: (303) 442-1462
Fax: (303) 449-9358
Email: news@dailycamera.com
Colorado Daily
P.O. Box 1719
Boulder, CO 80306
Clint Talbott, Ed.
Phone: (303) 443-6272
Fax: (303) 443-9357
Email: talbot@bcn.boulder.co.us
Longmont Times-Call
350 Terry Street
Longmont, CO 80501
Phone: (303) 444-3636
Fax: (303) 772-8339
Email: none
**** Weekly Newspapers *****
Boulder Weekly
690 S. Lashley Lane
Boulder, CO 80303
Phone: (303) 494-5511
Fax: (303) 494-2585
Email: bweditor@tesser.com
Boulder Planet
2028 14th Street
Boulder, CO 80302
Phone: (303) 444-5761
Fax: (303) 415-1210
Email: news@boulderplanet.com
The Mountain-Ear
P.O. Box 99
Nederland, CO 80466
Phone: (303) 258-7075
Fax: (303) 258-3547
Email: mtn-ear@indra.com
Weekly Register-Call
Box 609
Central City, CO 80427
Phone: (303) 582-5333
Fax: (303) 582-3932
Email: none
Westword
P.O. Box 5970
Denver, CO 80217
Phone: (303) 296-7744
Fax: (303) 296-5416
Email: editorial@westword.com
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