Fees for public records, protecting the confidential sources of journalists, the Open Meetings Law. These weren’t the topics that grabbed the biggest headlines during the during the 2014 legislative session. But that doesn’t diminish their importance.
A bill to ease the process for sealing the records of marijuana crimes now legal in Colorado didn’t last long in the Colorado Legislature.
State lawmakers Wednesday advanced a bill that would make it easier to seal the records of marijuana crimes now legal in Colorado under Amendment 64.
In a victory for public access to court records, an Arapahoe County judge ordered the unsealing of transcripts in the case against death-row inmate Sir Mario Owens.
The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition joined The Denver Post, The New York Times and several other media organizations in asking a judge to unseal court transcripts in the case against death-row inmate Sir Mario Owens.
Check out the CFOIC’s new Resource pages, which include guides to accessing public information and a categorized directory of public data available online.
Arapahoe County District Court Judge Carlos A. Samour, Jr. denies motion by James Holmes’ attorneys to seal transcripts of proceedings and remove access to pleadings from the court’s website. The CFOIC had opposed Holmes’s request.
Restricting access to court records in the Aurora movie theater shooting case would impair the public’s understanding of issues of national importance involving violence and mental health, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press argues in a letter co-signed by the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.
Restricting public access to information in the Aurora movie theater shooting case would set a dangerous precedent and erode the public trust in our state’s judicial system.
The CFOIC joined other organizations in supporting a request that the Colorado Supreme Court reconsider opening the case files of two men on death row, but the Court immediately denied a motion from defense lawyers.
