‘SMART’ hearings occupy the start of every legislative session. But are they actually making state government smarter?
The hearings are an effort to make government more accountable and transparent, but they take up precious time during the limited legislative session, and although most lawmakers in both parties say they support the overall effort, their views are more mixed when it comes to whether the hearings are effective, and they have plenty of ideas on how to improve the process ...
Appeals court interprets ambiguous phrase in Colorado’s criminal records sealing law
Colorado's second-highest court interpreted for the first time an ambiguous phrase in a 2019 law, and concluded a man convicted two decades ago for securities fraud was not entitled to have his criminal records sealed ...
Sengenberger: Denver school board flunks Transparency 101
But when I filed an open records request for documents backing Quattlebaum’s assertion, the response was baffling: “No responsive record(s).” How could no documentation exist for two specific figures publicly cited by a board member? ...
Colorado Supreme Court weighs whether Douglas County judge has authority over Missy Woods records
The state Supreme Court will decide whether a Douglas County judge has the authority to compel the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to release data related to the misconduct of a disgraced DNA analyst whose work affected numerous criminal cases ...
Opinion: Pricing the public out of public records
Imagine asking your local government for information to better understand a decision affecting your community — only to be handed a bill large enough to cover a month’s rent or mortgage payment ...
Perry: City council is not a spectator sport. Lawmakers must listen — in public
Listening is as much a part of the job of being a government representative as is talking. Suck it up ...
Carman: The social media world is a cesspool of lies, and we’re drowning in it
Zansberg, a self-described First Amendment zealot, said this measure has subjected us all to “blatant propaganda” and a tsunami of deception ...
Two appeals judges warn of diverging interpretations to Colorado’s free speech protection law
Two members of Colorado's second-highest court warned in separate cases that they believe judges are drifting away from the legislature's directive for evaluating whether defamation lawsuits should be dismissed under a 2019 law designed to protect free speech ...
Defamation suit may proceed against conservative radio outlet, talk show host: appeals court
A former executive of Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems may proceed with his defamation lawsuit against the owner of a conservative talk radio station and one of its hosts, Colorado's second-highest court ruled ...
Denver Public Schools withholds proposed boundary study policy, then releases it
Denver Public Schools officials withheld a proposed policy that would require the superintendent to conduct a boundary study, claiming the document was exempt from disclosure because of “deliberative privilege” before reversing that decision and releasing it ...
