Court of Appeals Reverses McDonald Vehicular Homicide Conviction, Orders New Trial

A unanimous three‑judge panel of the Colorado Court of Appeals reversed the vehicular‑homicide conviction of James Paul McDonald and ordered a new trial in People v. McDonald, issuing its decision March 5, 2026 after finding the trial judge’s jury instructions legally deficient and potentially outcome‑determinative.

McDonald had been convicted at a 2023 Douglas County trial and sentenced to 12 years in prison for the crash on Interstate 25. The appellate panel’s reversal vacated that conviction and the sentence, directing a new trial because the instructions omitted key language that could have misled jurors.

The underlying crash occurred on I‑25 when McDonald was driving in excess of 100 miles per hour, left the road and went airborne, according to trial reporting. Passenger Stevie Brown was ejected from the vehicle, sustained injuries in the crash and initially survived the impact; Brown died at the hospital seven hours after the collision while staff were preparing to intubate her.

Toxicology and medical testimony were central to the defense theory and the appeals court’s analysis. Blood samples taken when Brown was admitted showed high levels of methamphetamine and fentanyl, and the recorded levels increased during her hospitalization. Forensic pathologist Dawn Holmes performed Brown’s autopsy and testified, according to reporting, that the accident injuries were non‑lethal—evidence the appellate panel said supported a reasonable juror conclusion that intoxication and medical deterioration, rather than the crash alone, could have caused death.

Because the instructions permitted jurors to convict McDonald even if they believed Brown’s intoxication was the key factor leading to her death, the appellate panel ordered a new trial. The opinion, attributed in reporting to an author identified only by the surname Sullivan, stated, "Viewed together and in the light most favorable to McDonald, this constitutes some credible evidence that the passenger would have survived if the level of methamphetamine in her body hadn’t increased while at the hospital."

The decision arrives amid a spate of appellate activity affecting Colorado trial courts. A separate Douglas County matter saw an appeals court overturn a $12,500 restitution order after then‑District Court Judge Patricia Herron issued the restitution nearly two years after sentencing and months after the state Supreme Court had emphasized a 91‑day statutory deadline; both the prosecution and defendant Jonathan Morris agreed the restitution should not stand. The Court of Appeals also reversed convictions in an Alamosa County case after a judge closed a physical courtroom to the public without documenting reasons, and the Colorado Supreme Court recently addressed whether violating a restraining order can support a burglary conviction.

The Court of Appeals’ March 5, 2026 mandate remands People v. McDonald for a new trial. The appellate excerpts supplied do not include the full jury instruction language that was omitted, nor do they provide a first name for the author Sullivan, and no statements from prosecutors, defense counsel, McDonald or Brown’s family were included in the material reviewed.