Still Missing CO - Suzanne Morphew, 49, Chaffee Co, 10 May 2020 *arrest* #87

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Glad I wasn't the only one noticing that. Ugh. Creep is the appropriate word for sure.
Agreed.
It's as if he is sending a message about 'ownership' of those under his roof.
The problem is that people aren't possessions; but instead need to be free to make their own choices .
Apparently Barry never received the memo.
Imo.
 
That would give me pause if I were a judge. Sounds like the original complainant had ulterior motives. Regardless it's not relevant anymore other than as a fact of the entire investigation now that the trespass misdemeanor exposed all the details. I'm thinking chess and strategy is not the prosecutor's strongest suit. Bravado she's got absolutely.
^^bbm
Not true, IMO. I think SD's former neighbor (not to be confused with the new owner of PP) would have fared better if she was represented by an attorney -- especially after her key witness had memory loss and decided not to testify.
 
I wonder if he thought he could pull the fuse for the SYNC and that would keep the GPS from logging.
That is my guess as well. If that fuse is pulled, I don't think the GPS would work, period. Also, I don't think any SYNC data would be sent. What I am wondering about is if this would cause a power removal event. Seems unlikely to me. Why would one design a system that cuts power if the GPS and SYNC don't work?
 
Thanks, @Seattle1 & thanks for the links, @sk716.

So the woman who unsuccessfully sought a restraining order said SD was yelling that the complainant was BM's enemy during one occasion.
To be clear, the new owner of PP was granted a permanent restraining order, and SD's former neighbor from the apartment complex that went to court recently was not granted any order.
 
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Yes, Rule 21 provides for substitution of the Judge as follows:

Colo. R. Crim. P. 21
(3) Upon the filing of a motion under this section (b), all other proceedings in the case shall be suspended until a ruling is made thereon. If the motion and supporting affidavits state facts showing grounds for disqualification, the judge shall immediately enter an order disqualifying himself or herself. Upon disqualifying himself or herself, the judge shall notify forthwith the chief judge of the district, who shall assign another judge in the district to hear the action. If no other judge in the district is available or qualified, the chief judge shall notify forthwith the state court administrator, who shall obtain from the Chief Justice the assignment of a replacement judge.

Rule 21 - Change of Venue or Judge, Colo. R. Crim. P. 21 | Casetext Search + Citator
Looks like Judge Lama and Judge Wemmer have past practices in criminal law, but it doesn't look extensive and they've only served five or six years as judges. In a small district all four judges handle every kind of case, but I can't see Judge M handing off a complex First Degree Murder case to any of the other three.

Also, I don't think it's appropriate to expect the Chief Judge's subordinates to rule on the propriety of the warrants he approved. If I were BM, I would object to that.

So, even if the three other district judges in JD11 are murder qualified, I'm guessing Judge M will deem them not "available" and ask Chief Justice Boatwright to appoint his replacement. Boatright was a prosecutor in Golden, Colorado before a Republican governor appointed him to serve as a district judge. He has excellent background to make a sound appointment for this case. All MOO, of course.
 
Isn't there a timeliness and/or waiver issue that would defeat this motion?

Since Neilsen is married to a member of the McDermott firm, how does she explain the delay of nearly six months from the hiring of the McDermott firm (paid by BM) to represent SD in the search of her residence (also paid for by BM IIRC?) shortly after BM's arrest and the filing of the recusal motion? Neilsen is charged with notice of the judge's conflict issue, but she allowed Judge Murphy to preside over the entire preliminary hearing. She could have filed her objection to Judge Murphy at the very beginning. I think her inaction resulted in a waiver of BM's right to object to Judge M.


Exactly what I was thinking! They knew in May 2021 that SD was being represented by this attorney. Why now are they filing this motion? These are two very, very smart lawyers and you are telling me they did not realize SD would be testifying?????? Making no sense!
 
Did BM tell investigators that's what happened? If not, does he plan to testify to this. We can indulge in this kind of speculation on WS but the jury can't. They must make their findings based on evidence, and reasonable inferences from evidence.

I think this is one of the main issues for the defence ...

What explanations can they get into evidence?

I feel like BM can't take the stand because he already gave too many stupid comments which can't be reconciled
 
Agreed.
It's as if he is sending a message about 'ownership' of those under his roof.
The problem is that people aren't possessions; but instead need to be free to make their own choices .
Apparently Barry never received the memo.
Imo.
Narcissists believe they own people. That’s how he treated Suzanne. I was creeped out when I saw he had taken one of his “possessions” on a hunting trip alone, without other family present.
 
Looks like Judge Lama and Judge Wemmer have past practices in criminal law, but it doesn't look extensive and they've only served five or six years as judges. In a small district all four judges handle every kind of case, but I can't see Judge M handing off a complex First Degree Murder case to any of the other three.

Also, I don't think it's appropriate to expect the Chief Judge's subordinates to rule on the propriety of the warrants he approved. If I were BM, I would object to that.

So, even if the three other district judges in JD11 are murder qualified, I'm guessing Judge M will deem them not "available" and ask Chief Justice Boatwright to appoint his replacement. Boatright was a prosecutor in Golden, Colorado before a Republican governor appointed him to serve as a district judge. He has excellent background to make a sound appointment for this case. All MOO, of course.
Interesting. A person in the legal field in Colorado also mentioned to me last night that in their opinion there weren't any available judges in the district with the experience of Judge Murphy. I hope he does NOT recuse himself.
 
Exactly what I was thinking! They knew in May 2021 that SD was being represented by this attorney. Why now are they filing this motion? These are two very, very smart lawyers and you are telling me they did not realize SD would be testifying?????? Making no sense!
And because the defense are two, very, very, smart lawyers, they waited for Judge Murphy to recuse himself in a separate matter, and pounced, -- using his own actions in support of their motion!
 
And because the defense are two, very, very, smart lawyers, they waited for Judge Murphy to recuse himself in a separate matter, and pounced, -- using his own actions in support of their motion!

Ahhhh got it. Yes, after I wrote that I thought hmmm they know exactly what they are doing. I just want to know if it can come back to bite them? Can the judge say, well why did you take so long to file a motion?
 
Exactly what I was thinking! They knew in May 2021 that SD was being represented by this attorney. Why now are they filing this motion? These are two very, very smart lawyers and you are telling me they did not realize SD would be testifying?????? Making no sense!
I think they had to wait for Judge Murphy to disqualify himself from Shoshona's trespass trial, which occurred October 13. So yeah, they waited ~2 months to make this motion.
 
I think this is one of the main issues for the defence ...

What explanations can they get into evidence?

I feel like BM can't take the stand because he already gave too many stupid comments which can't be reconciled
Exactly. His recorded interviews with Grusing and other investigators will be bad enough, and putting Barry on the stand would only exacerbate that.

His accounts should have remained consistent, but just like every killer on planet earth, they changed both dramatically and hilariously.

One inconsistency or lie can bury you, and Barry had too many examples to count.
 
Exactly. His recorded interviews with Grusing and other investigators will be bad enough, and putting Barry on the stand would only exacerbate that.

His accounts should have remained consistent, but just like every killer on planet earth, they changed both dramatically and hilariously.

One inconsistency or lie can bury you, and Barry had too many examples to count.

Yup, too many lies'll barry anyone.

JMO
 
Ahhhh got it. Yes, after I wrote that I thought hmmm they know exactly what they are doing. I just want to know if it can come back to bite them? Can the judge say, well why did you take so long to file a motion?
Again, this smart team waited to file the motion until late afternoon Monday (after 3 pm)-- the day before BM's hearing! Had they filed their motion last week, the court probably would have continued Tuesday's hearing but this way they ensured they would be providing more drama for media attention when the hearing was cut short. For example, we're still talking about it!
 
Wait a damn minute!
Dru Nielsen husband works for the law firm that represents Shoshana??

Dru Nielsen ('97) and Tom Ward ('97)
Dru Nielsen and Tom Ward share a passion for advocacy and justice, a passion that has led to their success as criminal defense attorneys in the greater Denver area. Nielsen is co-founder and a partner at Eytan Nielsen, LLC, and Ward is a partner at McDermott, Stuart & Ward LLP. They met in their third year at the University of Colorado Law School and married in 2001.

Does this mean, she should also recuse/remove herself? Bias/Conflict of interest etc?
Genuinely asking as I have not got a clue but if it's good for the goose it's good for the gander and all that.
 
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Exactly what I was thinking! They knew in May 2021 that SD was being represented by this attorney. Why now are they filing this motion? These are two very, very smart lawyers and you are telling me they did not realize SD would be testifying?????? Making no sense!
I think the conflict came when the discovery arrived for the trespassing case and it was apparent that all together prosecution had compiled quite the dossier on SD. I'm curious if in fact this really just came out on Thursday, because some of the original warrants and LE legwork should have been disclosed to defense long ago and not just "Thursday" something doesn't feel right because yes, these are smart ladies with strong teams.... but there has been alot of messy info in this case since day one practically. If it's late disclosure it just gets added to the laundry list of alleged oopsies by prosecution.
 
Does this mean, she should also recuse/remove herself? Bias/Conflict of interest etc?
Genuinely asking as I have not got a clue but if it's good for the goose it's good for the gander and all that.
No legal ethics would preclude them from discussing SD's trespass case, plus he's not SD's lawyer someone else in the firm is so ethics at the firm would preclude discussion with her husband in my opinion. I admit it's getting muddier by the minute but I don't think there is a conflict between the two cases. The only common denominator was the judge presiding over the trespass case and now the murder case if SD is a primary witness as is alleged because the conflict of the judge if her lawyer is in court advising her through the murder trial.
 
I had transposed the numbers. Thanks!

I'm not a great copy editor, I try to always read back for content and watch for typos, but I can miss the same typo on a thousand times because I've read at it too many times.

Thanks for all your hard work.
Folk benefit so much from what you do.
You 'put everything together', helping us all.:):):)
 
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