"The head prosecutor of the 9th Judicial District Court is backing the Aspen attorney’s office after a local judge handed down sanctions against it, alleging infractions in handling pretrial evidence and discovery.
District Attorney Martin Beeson said he is assisting Aspen prosecutors in filing an appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court. The appeal asks for a rule to show cause for sanctions levied by Pitkin County District Court Judge Gail Nichols in August. Beeson said the court’s actions were “arbitrary, unreasonable and unfair.”
“I am baffled by the court’s actions and the words that have come down from the bench,” Beeson said. “We believe the judge is completely wrong.”
Nichols punished the Aspen prosecutor’s office on Aug. 22 by suppressing evidence in an aggravated motor vehicle theft case. She cited five cases in the past four years in which Chief Deputy District Attorney Arnold Mordkin has “repeatedly shown that he does not accept responsibility for insuring compliance with [evidence] rules and avoiding further ... violations...”
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