The Colorado Supreme Court will review whether appellate judges wrongly decided the Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (POST) is a criminal justice agency in a 2023 ruling that kept the state’s database of law enforcement officers confidential.
Several key rulings in 2023 showed why courts matter so much for enforcing and interpreting Colorado’s open government laws.
Powerful new reporting by the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab) and news organization partners shines a light on gaps and weaknesses in Colorado’s recent legislative efforts to make law enforcement more transparent and accountable in our state.
The refusal to release this information makes Colorado one of just 15 states that keep this type of police officer data secret, according to a nationwide reporting project, preventing the press and public from adequately monitoring the state’s oversight of wandering or second-chance officers.
A Court of Appeals opinion keeping Colorado’s database of law enforcement officers confidential “creates a gaping hole” in the Colorado Open Records Act and broadens the scope of the criminal justice records law “beyond recognition,” two news organizations contend in a certiorari petition submitted to the Colorado Supreme Court.
Colorado’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) board is a criminal justice agency, and it did not abuse its discretion by denying two news organizations’ requests for the state’s database of certified and decertified law enforcement officers, the Colorado Court of Appeals decided.
Lawyers argued in the Colorado Court of Appeals over whether Colorado’s Peace Officer Standards and Training board is a criminal justice agency or an agency subject to the Colorado Open Records Act.
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.
Colorado’s database of certified and decertified law enforcement officers will remain confidential after a judge Tuesday determined that the state Attorney General’s office did not abuse its discretion under the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA) when it denied journalists’ requests for the records in 2019 and 2020.
A judge has ruled that Colorado’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) board is a criminal justice agency, possibly hampering legal efforts by two news organizations to obtain the state’s database of certified law enforcement officers.
