AURORA | An experienced death penalty prosecutor brought to the Arapahoe County district attorney’s office to handle the Aurora theater shooting trial is no longer on the case.
Dan Zook, who previously tried four death penalty cases as a prosecutor in El Paso County, came to the 18th Judicial District in early 2013 specifically to work on the trial of accused theater shooter James Holmes.
But according to state records and recent case filings, he is no longer on the case. Michelle Yi, a spokeswoman for District Attorney George Brauchler said Monday that Zook is no longer with the DA’s office, but said she could not comment further because of a gag order in the case.
According to the Colorado Supreme Court’s attorney registration database, Zook is still registered as a lawyer with the DA’s office, but his law license is listed as “inactive.” According to the Colorado Office of Attorney Registration, Zook’s license has been inactive since March.
Zook last appeared in court for a hearing in the Holmes case in October 2013, according to court records. He was listed as one of the prosecutors in court documents until August.
Zook did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday.
In a statement announcing Zook’s hiring last year, Brauchler said Zook is an experienced prosecutor well-versed in capital cases.
“Dan is the most experienced death penalty prosecutor in the state of Colorado and a national expert on these cases. He brings a wealth of talent to our office and will be a valuable addition to our team. His career shows his dedication to achieving justice for the people of the state of Colorado,” Brauchler said at the time.
Holmes is accused of killing 12 and wounding dozens more during a July 20, 2012, shooting rampage at an Aurora movie theater. He has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
He is due in court Tuesday for a hearing about what images the judge will allow to be admitted at his trial next year.
Does Public Pension Case Law Actually Protect Vested Public Pension Benefits?
The Colorado Supreme Court has ignored Colorado public pension case law (Bills and McPhail) in reversing the Colorado Court of Appeals, and permitting a legislative taking of fully-vested “automatic” Colorado PERA public pension COLA (statutory “annual
benefit increases.”)
In granting this political favor, sanctioning the breach of Colorado PERA pension contracts, the Colorado Supreme Court was
forced to disregard 60-year old Colorado case law, the court failed to conduct a “contract analysis,” the court ignored evidence of Colorado PERA’s attorneys stating that the pension benefit was indeed a Colorado PERA contractual obligation, the court ignored the bill (SB10-001) sponsor’s testimony that the pension benefit was in fact a Colorado PERA contractual obligation, the court ignored recorded legislative history of the contractual nature of the public pension benefit, the court failed to engage in the “heightened scrutiny” of the abandonment of state financial obligations required under ederal case law (US Trust) and finally, the court embraced a discredited Denver District Court decision that did not bother to mention Colorado’s on-point public pension case law. No trial, no discovery, evidence ignored, state government forgiving state government debt, billions of dollars seized,
pensions inflated away.
Read the complete article at:
https://coloradopols.com/diary/64487/the-colorado-supreme-court-politicians-in-black-robes-as-it-turns-out
Interesting that no one mentions how many cases death penalty cases Zook lost. He may have worked on them, but he didn’t win them. The Colorado Public Defender System is strong, and the public in general opposes murdering fellow citizens, no matter their actions. The US stands with very few countries in the world that permit the death penalty – such as North Korea, Iraq, and Iran.