Divided Appeals Court Upholds Convictions
A man's convictions for unlawful possession of a firearm were upheld by Colorado's second-highest court on Thursday.
Despite acknowledging potentially unfair contradictory police testimony, the majority ruled in favor of upholding the convictions.
Case Background
Matthew Torres attempted to exclude evidence of a handgun found in his waistband, arguing that police stopped and frisked him in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
- Torres claimed the search was unreasonable.
- A trial judge disagreed, finding police had reasonable suspicion to stop Torres.
The ruling was based on pretrial testimony of an officer who claimed to have seen a gun on Torres before he was seized.
Author's summary: Court upholds convictions despite contradictory testimony.