Colorado judicial branch asks for public comment on proposed virtual court directives
Colorado’s judicial branch proposed two new chief justice directives on virtual court proceedings and asked the public to comment on them by mid-March.
CFOIC
Measure to restrict NDAs for state and local government employees passes Senate committee
A bill that restricts governments’ use of nondisclosure agreements to silence public employees in Colorado earned bipartisan support in a Senate committee.
Colorado lawmakers advance bill that deletes juveniles’ names from criminal justice records
Legislation requiring the deletion of all juvenile victim and witness names from police and court records before the records are released to the public won unanimous approval in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Legislation or a new judicial branch policy could make livestreaming of court proceedings more commonplace in Colorado
Nearly three years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced Colorado courts to fundamentally change how they operate, the judicial branch is developing a policy that could make the livestreaming of court proceedings more commonplace and uniform statewide. Meanwhile, a state legislator said she will introduce a bill to make remote viewing of criminal courts the “default” in Colorado.
People who want to ban books aren’t anonymous library ‘users,’ says library district’s appellate brief
The Gunnison County Library District has joined the Crested Butte News and the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition in asking the Colorado Court of Appeals to overturn a judge’s ruling that shields the identities of people who want library books banned or reclassified.
CFOIC’s 2022 year in review: Club Q, McClain autopsy, serial meetings, secret ballots, book banning, teacher sick days and Casa Bonita
Like last year, court rulings dominate CFOIC’s 2022 list of transparency highs and lows, with perhaps the most closely watched decision coming nearly three weeks after a shooter killed five people and wounded more than a dozen others at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs on Nov. 19.
Colorado Supreme Court lets stand ruling that can make attorneys liable for statements made to news media
The Colorado Supreme Court declined to review issues in a Court of Appeals opinion that could impact the First Amendment rights of lawyers to make statements about public-interest litigation.
CFOIC, Crested Butte News argue for reversal of court ruling that shields identities of people who want to ban library books
In Colorado Court of Appeals briefs, the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition and the editor of the Crested Butte News spell out reasons why a judge erred in ruling that a Colorado statute shields the identities of people who want certain books reclassified or removed altogether from library shelves.
News organizations, Colorado Human Services argue in appeals court over withholding of child-abuse hotline statistics
Lawyers clashed in the Colorado Court of Appeals over whether the state’s Children’s Code prohibits the Colorado Department of Human Services (DHS) from publicly releasing aggregate statistics about child-abuse hotline calls made from licensed residential care facilities.
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.