CFOIC’s Zansberg inducted into Colorado Press Association hall of fame
Steve Zansberg, First Amendment attorney and president of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, is a new member of the Colorado Press Association’s hall of fame.
anti-SLAPP laws
Colorado Supreme Court protects Title IX complainants from defamation claims
In a landmark ruling, the Colorado Supreme Court declared that statements made in connection with a formal Title IX investigation conducted by a public school district or university cannot serve as the basis for a defamation claim or any other civil tort action.
Colorado Court of Appeals orders dismissal of libel lawsuit against newspaper over ‘furries’ story
The Colorado Court of Appeals ordered the dismissal of a libel case against the Arvada Press because plaintiff Jeffco Kids First failed to show “actual malice” by the newspaper or that statements made in an article by reporter Rylee Dunn “were materially false.”
Colorado Supreme Court will examine ‘public interest’ parameters of anti-SLAPP law
The state’s highest court announced it will examine the “public interest” parameters of a 2019 statute designed to protect Coloradans from meritless lawsuits that target free expression.
Judge applies Colorado’s anti-SLAPP law to dismiss defamation claims against Denver7 and Denver NewsBreak journalists
A judge applied Colorado’s four-year-old anti-SLAPP law in tossing out defamation allegations made by a health care staffing company against reporters for Denver7 and Denver Newsbreak.
Colorado appellate court sets standard for libel plaintiffs to overcome anti-SLAPP motions
The published ruling clarifies Colorado’s 2019 anti-SLAPP law, which protects news organizations and Coloradans in general from meritless lawsuits that target free expression.
CFOIC’s 2021 year in review: sole finalists, internal affairs records, body-cam footage, peace officer database, disinformation, a judge’s order to ‘be kind’
Court rulings top CFOIC’s 2021 list of Colorado transparency highlights and lowlights, with the most impactful paving the way for a state law change that lets governments publicly name just one finalist for chief executive positions like university president, city manager and school superintendent.
Applying Colorado’s two-year-old anti-SLAPP law, judge dismisses defamation suit against newspaper and orders litigants to ‘be kind’
A judge threw out a defamation lawsuit against the Weekly Register-Call newspaper in Black Hawk, applying a 2019 state law that established an expedited process for dismissing civil suits targeting free expression.
CFOIC’s year-in-review 2019: encrypted police radios, open internal affairs records, deleted emails
A split screen might be the best way to think about government transparency in Colorado in 2019. On one side is the ground-breaking new state law that opens records on completed police internal affairs investigations. On the other is the trend among law enforcement agencies in our state to encrypt 100 percent of their scanner transmissions.
Colorado Court of Appeals rules for environmental activist in oil company’s defamation suit
A Paonia environmental activist who helped persuade state lawmakers to pass an anti-SLAPP law during this year’s legislative session won a Colorado Court of Appeals victory Thursday against the oil and gas company that sued him for libel.