Secrecy abounds for voters in judicial retention
We didn’t think our story would be an open-and-shut case. Neither did we expect such secrecy from a governmental branch whose purpose is to oversee the implementation of laws and enforce them.
Court Records
Colorado Supreme Court holds public hearing on proposed rule for sealing and suppressing criminal court records
The Colorado Supreme Court moved closer to possibly adopting a statewide standard for guiding judges’ decisions to seal or suppress court records in criminal cases.
Should Colorado’s attorney discipline process be more transparent?
A former senior assistant attorney general for Colorado is making a case for a more transparent state system of regulating the legal profession. Comments submitted by Paul Chessin this month to the Colorado Supreme Court call for public disclosure to be “the rule, not the exception.”
During the pandemic, Colorado’s judicial branch offers (temporary) remote access to civil court records — at no charge
With the Colorado Supreme Court library in downtown Denver “closed until further notice” because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state’s judicial branch is finally letting anyone pull up civil case filings on a personal computer at no charge — at least temporarily.
Transparency, media literacy measures axed in purge of pre-pandemic state legislation
Two transparency bills died during a purge of proposals left over from before the coronavirus pandemic forced a suspension of the 2020 Colorado legislative session.
CFOIC: Proposed judicial branch rule on sealing and suppressing criminal court records ‘undervalues’ presumption of public access
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Colorado Supreme Court will wait until September to convene a public hearing on a long-awaited standard for guiding judges’ decisions to seal or suppress judicial records in criminal cases. In the meantime, the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition and other groups have submitted written comments on the proposal.
Judge dismisses ‘Jane Doe M.D.’ lawsuit that tried to keep substandard care allegations confidential
A Denver judge has dismissed an anonymous physician’s legal attempt to stop the Colorado Medical Board from initiating public disciplinary proceedings against her for allegedly providing substandard care.
Some Colorado governments put public records requests on the back burner during the pandemic
Some government entities in Colorado are delaying responses to public records requests because of the coronavirus pandemic, but the disruption of day-to-day transparency obligations so far doesn’t seem as severe here as in other parts of the country.
Lawsuit by ‘Jane Doe, M.D.’ seeks to prevent public disclosure of substandard care allegations
An unnamed physician is trying to stop the Colorado Medical Board from initiating public disciplinary proceedings against her for allegedly providing substandard care to three patients.
House committee endorses creation of free judicial branch website for Colorado higher-court opinions
A bipartisan bill in the Colorado legislature would require the state’s judicial branch to publish higher-court opinions online in a searchable format and at no cost to the public.