People v. Rodriguez-Nunez

── People v. Rodriguez-Nunez ── Court: Colorado Court of Appeals Date: June 04, 2026 Category: General The summaries of the Colorado Court of Appeals published opinions constitute no part of the opinion of the division but have been prepared by the division for the convenience of the reader. The summaries may not be cited or relied upon as they are not the official language of the division. Any discrepancy between the language in the summary and in the opinion should be resolved in favor of the language in the opinion. SUMMARY June 4, 2026 2026 COA 48 No. 25CA2183, People v. Rodriguez-Nunez — Crimes — Murder in the First Degree; Criminal Law — Release on Bail — Setting and Selection of Type of Bond — Types of Bond Set by Court; Constitutional Law — Colorado Constitution — Right to Bail — Proof Evident Exception A division of the court of appeals considers whether the district court’s imposition of a cash bond that amounted to a de facto no-bond hold violated the right to bail for a defendant charged with first degree murder after deliberation. The division concludes that the proof evident exception to the right to bail did not apply to the defendant because he was charged with committing the offense in 2021, which was after the abolition of the death penalty in 2020 eliminated the proof evident exception under People v. Smith, 2023 CO 40, but before the voters restored the exception for first degree murder by constitutional amendment in 2024.  Accordingly, the division grants the petition for review and remands the matter for further hearing. COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS 2026 COA 48 Court of Appeals No. 25CA2183 Weld County District Court No. 25CR960 Honorable Annette Kundelius, Judge The People of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Moises Rodriguez-Nunez, Defendant-Appellant. PETITION GRANTED AND CASE REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS Division A Opinion by JUDGE KUHN Grove and Yun, JJ., concur Announced June 4, 2026 Michael J. Rourke, District Attorney, Ash McCuaig, Deputy District Attorney, Blake Madone, Deputy District Attorney, Greeley, Colorado, for Plaintiff- Appellee Daniel King, Alternate Defense Counsel, Arvada, Colorado; Andrew Sidley- MacKie, Alternate Defense Counsel, Fort Collins, Colorado, for Defendant- Appellant ¶1 Defendant, Moises Rodriguez-Nunez, was indicted on one count of first degree murder after deliberation for a homicide committed in 2021.1 See § 18-3-102(1)(a), C.R.S. 2025. Following Rodriguez-Nunez’s arrest, the trial court set bond. But the court made its bond determination during a period of flux surrounding Colorado’s constitutional right to bail. ¶2 Though the Colorado Constitution generally guarantees an absolute right to bail for people accused of committing crimes until the disposition of charges against them, it also contains an exception for “capital offenses” when proof is evident or the presumption is great that the accused committed the crime. Colo. Const. art. II, § 19(1). In 2020, the General Assembly abolished the death penalty, taking the proof evident exception with it. In 2024, voters amended the constitution to restore the proof evident exception for first degree murder charges. 1 Rodriguez-Nunez was sixteen years old at the time of the alleged offense. The prosecution charged him as an adult by filing in the district court the grand jury indictment and a notice of direct filing under section 19-2.5-801(1)(a), C.R.S. 2025. 1 ¶3 In the interim, Rodriguez-Nunez unsuccessfully moved to modify his bond. He now petitions under section 16-4-204(1), C.R.S. 2025, for review of the district court’s