In Re the People of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff v. Kevin F. Elmarr, Sr., Defendant

Summary

The court made absolute its rule to show cause after concluding that the trial court had not properly analyzed the admissibility of evidence implicating an alternate suspect in the charged murder. It held that alternate-suspect evidence must establish a non-speculative nexus to the charged crime, satisfy applicable hearsay and other-acts rules, and survive balancing under the relevance and prejudice provisions of the Colorado Rules of Evidence. The court remanded for the trial court to apply that framework to the proffered evidence.