Loading ...Appeals Court Questions Flawed Jury Instructions in Tina Peters Case
WOW….I FOUND THIS ON AN OBSCURE X ACCOUNT
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On January 14, Colorado Court of Appeals judges sharply challenged state prosecutors during arguments in former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’ appeal. Peters, 70, has been in prison since October 2024 for felonies and misdemeanors linked to a 2021 voting machine breach amid 2020 election claims. Defense argued the instructions wrongly used a ‘might’ standard for conspiracy instead of proving knowing intent; judges called it a misinstruction and floated a misdemeanor verdict as remedy, while prosecutors defended the conviction’s evidence. The case highlights post-2020 election tensions, with no ruling timeline yet and Gov. Polis noting the sentence’s harshness.
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Appellate Judges Grill Prosecutors Over “Baffling” Error: Tina Peters Convicted on Felony Charges despite using Misdemeanor Jury Instruction Language
– A judge asks point-blank if it’s acceptable to convict someone of a crime they weren’t charged with or instructed on, as long as evidence supports it; the prosecutor affirms “yes,” leading to visible judicial confusion and pushback, with one judge stating, “I’m baffled at the position that’s being taken.”
– The jury was instructed using “might” (misdemeanor language implying potential liability) instead of the felony requirement of actual liability, resulting in an extra 15 months in prison; judges emphasize this isn’t a mere omission but an affirmative misinstruction, questioning why the remedy isn’t simply entering a misdemeanor verdict.
This egregious error represents prosecutorial misconduct or a fundamental due process violation, and is potentially grounds for overturning the conviction entirely or declaring a mistrial.
MUCH MORE IN THE COMMENTS
EXAMPLE
One of the STRANGEST THINGS about this travesty of a case against Tina Peters is how she ended up with a 9 year prison sentence when she was charged with a misdemeanor.
This ‘error’ being admitted to by the CO state AG’s office is incredible.
By it’s very nature, it CAN’T be an ‘error’.
They literally CHARGED Peters with one level of offense, but then CONVICTED and SENTENCED her on a much HIGHER level of offense.
You do not do that kind of thing by accident.
There are all kinds of safeguard and checks and balances n’ shit that supposed to PREVENT this kind of thing.
Not the least of which is BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAW, where charging someone with a misdemeanor offense but convicting and sentencing them as if they’d committed a felony is a BIG NO NO.
In case you’re wondering why the 3 judges are looking at this state prosecutor sent to try to clean up this mess and save the case as if she’s speaking a completely different language from them. Like she’s from another country they’re not familiar with.
……………..
Great find!
I’m JUST as stunned that given ALL the attention this case has gotten (like from WH, but not in litigation procedural detail) that its taken this long for this problem to get attention.
Where are HER own lawyers?