There will be no “presumptive” livestreaming of criminal trials and evidentiary hearings in state courts, but judges may allow those proceedings to be broadcast on Webex or another videoconferencing platform after considering several factors, a directive issued by Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian Boatright says.
State lawmakers endorsed a bill that makes it harder for Coloradans to challenge inadequately announced closed-door meetings of school boards, city councils, county commissions and special district boards.
A bill requiring Colorado courts to livestream open criminal court proceedings on Webex or another videoconferencing platform won unanimous approval in the House Judiciary Committee.
Recently retired Denver attorney Marc Flink spent decades fighting alongside news organizations for public access to the records and workings of government — and played a leading role in some of the most consequential First Amendment cases in recent Colorado history.
A proposed chief justice directive should be revised to allow the livestreaming of criminal trials and evidentiary hearings in Colorado courtrooms and permit virtual access to civil proceedings, the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition and the state’s news associations urged the Colorado Supreme Court.
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.
Three Lakewood City Council members are raising free-speech concerns after Mayor Adam Paul muted two of their microphones while they spoke during a Zoom meeting convened to consider changes to the city manager’s contract.
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.
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.
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.
