It’s almost 2025. Why are we still writing checks to pay for public records?
A quarter of the way into the 21st century, should Coloradans still have to write paper checks to pay for public records?
Court Records
Colorado judicial branch unveils free online database of appellate decisions dating back to statehood and earlier
As required by a bill signed into law in 2022, the Colorado Judicial Department unveiled a new website that gives Coloradans free access to published high-court opinions dating back to 1864.
Colorado bill adjusts 2023 law requiring redaction of juveniles’ names from criminal justice records
State lawmakers want to adjust a 2023 juvenile privacy law that recently forced Colorado’s judicial branch to restrict attorneys’ access to criminal court records, also creating delays in processing document requests from journalists and the public.
CFOIC’s 2023 year in review: Denver school board, Red Rocks, disappearing messages, CORA changes, livestreamed courts and a theater surveillance video
Several key rulings in 2023 showed why courts matter so much for enforcing and interpreting Colorado’s open government laws.
Obtaining criminal court records may take longer because of new Colorado law requiring redaction of juveniles’ names
Because of a 2023 law that protects the privacy of juveniles, the Colorado Judicial Department plans to limit attorneys’ access to criminal court records and clerks may take longer to process document requests from journalists and the public.
Court records sealed after Denver Post asked to see them in 2016 should be opened, Court of Appeals says
Seven years after a judge sealed court documents requested by The Denver Post in a case concerning a Vail anesthesiologist who died of a drug overdose, the Colorado Court of Appeals has ordered the entire case file opened.
CFOIC’s 2022 year in review: Club Q, McClain autopsy, serial meetings, secret ballots, book banning, teacher sick days and Casa Bonita
Like last year, court rulings dominate CFOIC’s 2022 list of transparency highs and lows, with perhaps the most closely watched decision coming nearly three weeks after a shooter killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs on Nov. 19.
Sunshine Madness contest: Nominate the worst of ‘open’ government in Colorado
What’s your favorite (or should we say least favorite) example from the past two or three years of someone blatantly obstructing the public’s right to know in Colorado? It could involve a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request, a Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA) request, access to a meeting under the Colorado Open Meetings Law, or access to the court system.
House committee passes bill to create free website for Colorado high-court opinions
With civil court records now free to access online in Colorado, the state may soon also post the text of high-court opinions — going back to statehood — in a searchable format and at no cost to the public.
CFOIC’s 2021 year in review: sole finalists, internal affairs records, body-cam footage, peace officer database, disinformation, a judge’s order to ‘be kind’
Court rulings top CFOIC’s 2021 list of Colorado transparency highlights and lowlights, with the most impactful paving the way for a state law change that lets governments publicly name just one finalist for chief executive positions like university president, city manager and school superintendent.