Records requesters concerned about CORA mediation bill in legislature
Groups representing Colorado journalists and citizen requesters of public records are voicing concerns about a legislative proposal to resolve records disputes through mediation.
Steve Zansberg
Zansberg: Why Colorado needs a uniform standard for sealing criminal court records
We think Colorado should set a uniform standard for the sealing of court files in criminal cases. The Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition recently made a formal request for such a rule to a Colorado Supreme Court committee responsible for proposing Rules of Criminal Procedure applicable in state courts.
CFOIC honors Moore for records battles: ‘He refused to take no for an answer’
Journalists must “double down on the public trust” and governments must “release their stranglehold on information about the public’s business,” former Denver Post Editor Greg Moore said, accepting an award from the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.
Judge: School bus driver disciplinary records are public
Complaints and disciplinary actions against public school bus drivers are not “personnel” records that must be kept confidential, an Arapahoe County District Court judge ruled.
Zansberg: Why we shouldn’t hide what police body cameras show
Congress and state legislatures that provide public funds to police departments to deploy body-worn cameras should attach strings to that purse and mandate that there be a strong presumption of public access to such recordings, with only narrow, carefully defined exceptions.
Colorado Supreme Court won’t hear appeal by teachers’ union in sick-leave records case
The Colorado Supreme Court declined to review a state appeals court decision holding that sick-leave records are not part of a public school teacher’s confidential personnel file.
Is the public entitled to know how school bus drivers are disciplined?
News organizations and government-employee unions clashed in an Arapahoe County courtroom over whether the public is entitled to inspect complaints and disciplinary actions against school bus drivers.
Fish: Getting precinct-level election results from Park County ‘like a goofy cartoon’
The Park County clerk’s ban on cellphones and laptops made getting precinct-level election results seem like a goofy cartoon for journalist Sandra Fish.
Englewood gets competing legal opinions on closed-door selection of city attorney finalist
Lawyers disagree on whether Colorado’s Sunshine Law permits the Englewood City Council to choose a finalist for the city attorney’s job behind closed doors.
Government employee records in Colorado: What’s confidential, what’s not?
Colorado’s open-records law is clear: A government employee’s personnel file is off limits to the public. But which records, exactly, are part of that confidential file?