Contempt Ruling Reversed
May 1, 1999
Denver Post (email)
Gilpin County, CO -- The Colorado Court of Appeals on Thursday reversed a contempt conviction against a Gilpin County woman accused of jury misconduct in a drug trial.
The appeals court said Gilpin County District Judge Henry Nieto wrongly considered juryroom transcripts in finding Laura Kriho guilty of contempt.
The contempt charge grew out of Kriho's participation in a 1996 Gilpin County jury in a 1994 methamphetamine possession case. Kriho held out for an acquittal, and the case ended in a mistrial.
A subsequent investigation by the Gilpin County district attorney's office found Kriho had been arrested in 1985 for possession of LSD and had supported the liberalization of hemp laws. A contempt-of-court charge was filed against Kriho for failing to disclose the arrest and her views during jury selection.
Kriho said she was granted a deferred judgment in her drug case, which meant the conviction was erased from her record, and she did not think she was obligated to disclose it.
Copyright 1999 The Denver Post
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