Colorado Politics: The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a 2019 law designed to protect the exercise of First Amendment rights conflicts with the state constitution in certain scenarios involving appeals from county courts.

Known as the “anti-SLAPP” law, which stands for “strategic lawsuits against public participation,” the legislature provided a mechanism for quickly disposing of litigation arising from a person’s rights to free speech and to petition the government. When a judge rules on a defendant’s motion to dismiss under the anti-SLAPP law, any appeal goes to the Court of Appeals.

But what happens when a lawsuit implicating those rights is filed in county court, where appeals of final decisions are constitutionally required to go to through the district courts or the Supreme Court?

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