Colorado Politics: Colorado’s second-highest court ruled last week that a public figure cannot sue for defamation solely because a person publicly accuses them of committing a crime, as the statement may be constitutionally protected opinion.

A three-judge Court of Appeals panel narrowed the claims that Academy School District 20 board member Derrick Wilburn may pursue against Bernadette Guthrie, who has repeatedly accused Wilburn of being a “predator.” Although the panel decided that Guthrie may be legally liable for her assertions that can be proven true or false, her free speech rights permitted her to air her conclusions about Wilburn based on undisputed facts.

“The line between fact and opinion can grow blurry when one person accuses another — particularly a public figure — of committing a crime,” wrote Judge Karl L. Schock in the March 12 opinion. “But there is a difference between falsely accusing someone of committing a criminal act and expressing the view that an act the person indisputably undertook violates the law.”

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