Coming soon: The First, a new documentary film about the First Amendment
The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition is fiscal sponsor for a new film about the First Amendment to be aired on PBS stations starting in October.
First Amendment
Wrap-up: Lawmakers in 2026 session rejected CORA response-time extension and PUC open meetings exemption, improved courts transparency
Efforts to weaken the Colorado Open Records Act and give an open meetings law exemption to the state Public Utilities Commission fell short during the 2026 session of the General Assembly.
Judge grants temporary restraining order against police seizure of Durango bookstore’s customer records
Citing a landmark Colorado Supreme Court ruling involving the Tattered Cover bookstore, a judge granted a temporary restraining order against a police detective who is seeking customer records from Maria’s Bookshop in Durango.
‘Tell us the truth’: Defeated bill would have required an oath — under penalty of perjury — before testifying at the Colorado Capitol
Colorado lawmakers defeated a measure that would have required people testifying before legislative committees to swear an oath to tell the truth under penalty of perjury.
CFOIC’s 2025 year in review: press freedom battles, a vetoed records bill, a ‘private’ judicial system, auto-deleted Signal texts and a $25.4 million CORA request
Coloradans fought for press freedom and freedom of information in 2025 in settings as small as the Eastern Plains town of Bennett and as big as the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
Bennett trustees approve First Amendment settlement with newspaper that lost town’s advertising over article about sex assault
Bennett trustees voted to settle a First Amendment claim brought by a weekly newspaper that lost town advertising last spring because the board didn’t like an article about a sexual assault that allegedly happened in the locker room of a middle school.
Colorado Supreme Court interprets ‘public interest’ parameters of state’s anti-SLAPP law
The Colorado Supreme Court established a two-step test for determining whether challenged speech or conduct is covered by a 2019 statute designed to protect Coloradans from meritless lawsuits that target free expression.
Federal appeals court revives whistleblower retaliation complaint against special district
A federal appeals court has revived a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit brought by a lawyer who alleges she was fired as general counsel of a special district for pointing out violations of the Colorado Open Meetings Law.
Educating everyone about the First Amendment
Two new resources are designed to help Americans learn more about the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
In existence for just 14 months, the Estes Valley Voice files its third open-government lawsuit
The Estes Valley Voice had been in existence for just four months when it filed its first open-government lawsuit. Now 14 months since it launched in June 2024, the digital news outlet has filed — remarkably — a total of three.