People v. Black

Defendant Earl S. Black appealed a trial court’s denial of his motion for post-conviction relief, filed pursuant to Crim. P. 35(c). The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s rejection of Black’s due process and illegal sentencing claims, but held that the trial court had improperly dismissed his equal protection claim. People v. Black, 894 P.2d 767, 768-71 (Colo.App.1994). Construing Black’s equal protection challenge as an “as applied” claim, the court of appeals held that an evidentiary hearing was necessary to resolve “material questions of fact which, if true, could provide…