Morphew v. Chaffee County, Colorado

── Morphew v. Chaffee County, Colorado ── Case No.: 24-1424 Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: April 06, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 24-1424 Document: 95 Date Filed: 04/06/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit PUBLISH April 6, 2026 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Christopher M. Wolpert FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court _________________________________ BARRY MORPHEW, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. No. 24-1424 CHAFFEE COUNTY, COLORADO; BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF CHAFFEE COUNTY, COLORADO; CHAFFEE COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT; LINDA STANLEY, District Attorney, in her official and individual capacities; JOHN SPEZZE, Chaffee County Sheriff, in his official and individual capacities; ALEX WALKER, Eleventh Judicial District Attorney's Office Investigator; JEFFREY LINDSEY, Deputy District Attorney; MARK HURLBERT, Deputy District Attorney; ANDREW ROHRICH, Chaffee County Undersheriff; JOHN CAMPER, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director; SCOTT HIMSCHOOT, Chaffee County Sheriff's Department; JOSEPH CAHILL, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent; MEGAN DUGE, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent; CAITLIN ROGERS, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent; DEREK GRAHAM, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent; KEVIN  Appellate Case: 24-1424 Document: 95 Date Filed: 04/06/2026 Page: 2 KOBACK, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent; KIRBY LEWIS, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent; CHRIS SCHAEFER, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Deputy Director of Investigations; JOHN/JANE DOES, 1-10, and other unknown employees of the Eleventh Judicial District Attorney, and other unknown officers of the Chaffee County Sheriff's Department; WILLIAM PLACKNER, Chaffee County Sheriff's Sergeant; RANDY CARRICATO, Chaffee County Sheriff's Detective; ROBIN BURGESS, Chaffee County Sheriff's Detective, Defendants - Appellees, and CLAUDETTE HYSJULIEN, Chaffee County Sheriff's Sergeant; JONATHAN GRUSING, Federal Bureau of Investigation Unit; KENNETH HARRIS, Federal Bureau of Investigation Unit, Defendants. _________________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Colorado (D.C. No. 1:23-CV-01108-DDD-JPO) _________________________________ 2  Appellate Case: 24-1424 Document: 95 Date Filed: 04/06/2026 Page: 3 Submitted on the briefs: * Jane Fisher-Byrialsen of Fisher & Byrialsen, P.L.L.C., Denver, Colorado, and Hollis Whitson of Samler and Whitson, PC, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff- Appellant. Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General, Jennifer H. Hunt, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Dmitry B. Vilner, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Colorado, Denver, Colorado, for Defendants-Appellees John Camper, Megan Duge, Chris Schaefer, Caitlin Rogers, Kevin Koback, Kirby Lewis, and Derek Graham. Nicholas C. Poppe and J. Andrew Nathan of Nathan Dumm & Mayer P.C., Denver, Colorado, for Defendants-Appellees Chaffee County, Colorado; Board of County Commissioners of Chaffee County, Colorado; Chaffee County Sheriff’s Department; Chaffee County Sheriff John Spezze; Chaffee County Undersheriff Andrew Rohrich; Chaffee County Sheriff’s Sergeant William Plackner; and Chaffee County Sheriff’s Detective Robin Burgess. Leslie L. Schluter of Dagner|Schluter|Werber LLC, Greenwood Village, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellee Eleventh Judicial Dist