Newsletter of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping Coloradans understand and use their rights of access to the records and proceedings of government and the judiciary.
Judge: 9NEWS anchor must be allowed to inspect CORA request for Douglas County teacher sick-out records
The Douglas County School District must let 9NEWS anchor Kyle Clark see a Colorado Open Records Act request that sought the names of teachers who called in sick Feb. 3 to protest actions by majority members of the school board, a judge ruled.
Legislation continues remote public testimony in Colorado General Assembly committees
Remote testimony on bills, a positive outgrowth of the COVID-19 pandemic, likely will remain an option for the public during future sessions of the Colorado General Assembly.
Judge orders Woodland Park school board to comply with Colorado's open meetings law by listing agenda items 'clearly, honestly and forthrightly'
A Teller County District Court judge ordered the Woodland Park school board to comply with the Colorado Open Meetings Law “by clearly, honestly and forthrightly” listing future agenda items pertaining to a charter school’s application to the district.
Zansberg: Tread lightly on 'prior restraint' of press
The Denver Gazette: This is no laughing matter. The attorney general’s error cost The Gazette several thousand dollars it was forced to expend to fight a battle of principle and vindicate its right to provide its readers with timely, newsworthy, and truthful information.
John Eastman used CU email account to advise Pennsylvania legislator on challenging that state's 2020 election results
The Denver Post: John Eastman, a lawyer who represented Donald Trump following the president’s 2020 election loss, used his University of Colorado email account while serving as a visiting professor in Boulder to advise a Pennsylvania lawmaker on how to challenge that state’s electors, according to records submitted to Congress.
Identity of attorney should be public, secretary of state argues in Elbert County election security case
Colorado Newsline: The Colorado secretary of state is asking a judge to allow the name of a private attorney who was in possession of an Elbert County election system hard drive copy to be made public.
Question of Aurora open meeting law violation moving to court review
Aurora Sentinel: Attorneys for Sentinel Colorado say a district court judge will determine whether to make public the recording of a closed city council meeting where members discussed and ended the censure process of a fellow council person.
Dougco board must address CORA denials or go to court
NewsBreak Denver: Steve Zansberg, attorney and president of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, sent a five-page document on behalf of his client, Robert Marshall, to the DougCo board of directors requesting the Douglas County records custodian release several records under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) or face a lawsuit.
Dougco releases name of person who requested teacher absence records
9NEWS: A law partner of KHOW talk radio host Dan Caplis, who previously called for Douglas County School District (DCSD) to release the names of teachers who were absent on Feb. 3, filed the public records request to get those teachers' names.
Colorado lawmakers want to put clear guardrails around how dark money can be spent on ballot measures
The Colorado Sun: A bipartisan effort to clarify how much money political nonprofits can spend supporting or opposing Colorado ballot measures before they have to disclose their donors would likely allow the so-called dark-money groups to keep their finances secret in most cases.
Moffat County school board puts superintendent on leave without explanation
FOX31: The Moffat County Board of Education held a private meeting in executive session and voted unanimously after to place Superintendent Scott Pankow on paid administrative leave. No further information was released about the reason for the move.
Investigation launched after police fail to record disturbance call involving three city council members
KOAA: That night, another neighbor called police to report a disturbance. Police responded, but News 5 learned there was no report taken, no tickets written and officers apparently did not activate their body-worn cameras.
Automatic sealing of non-violent criminal records passes final vote in Colorado
Colorado Politics: More than one million Coloradans with non-violent criminal records may soon have their records automatically sealed, thanks to a bill passed by the state legislature.
Douglas County School Board parts ways with original legal defense team in Sunshine Law lawsuit
Colorado Community Media: The Douglas County School Board has parted ways with its original legal defense firm in a lawsuit alleging some directors broke open meetings laws, as the board pursues an appeal of a judge’s order that determined some directors broke both the spirit and letter of the law.
Vi Murphy: The Gazette reporter jailed by Colorado Supreme Court for refusing to identify source
The Gazette: In fall 1960, the Colorado Supreme Court ordered a reporter from The Gazette to appear and the visibly angry justices demanded to know how she got her hands on a sealed petition that accused a former justice of taking bribes.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel: The Sentinel recently gave the city of Grand Junction a “B+” in its recent evaluation of the transparency of several governments in our area. As a member of the City Council, it is my belief that this grade was much too high and would like to explain my logic in reaching this conclusion.
Cardi: 'The most serious and least tolerable': A fight for press freedom
The Denver Gazette: After a further review of the constitutional issues at stake, Loew agreed with Zansberg's arguments in a new order, concluding that the state's "interest in protecting grand jury secrecy in this case, where the grand jury has completed its deliberations, does not outweigh The Denver Gazette's First Amendment right to publish truthful and lawfully-attained information."
Denver to principals: Keep concerns private, support district publicly
Chalkbeat Colorado: Denver school principals are not allowed to advocate for proposed state laws during work time or using district resources if their opinion on the proposed laws differs from the district’s position, according to a letter sent to school leaders.
Douglas County school board asks judge to reconsider order blocking certain communications
The Denver Gazette: The Douglas County school board has asked a judge to reconsider his order preventing board members from communicating in certain one-on-one capacities, arguing that the order was "wrong on the law."
Judge agrees security guards could block woman from entering courthouse for failing to answer question
Colorado Politics: Security guards acted within their authority by requiring a woman to disclose which courtroom she was going to as a condition of entering the federal courthouse in Denver, a judge has ruled.
In Colorado, open records aren't always very open. Another reform effort just fizzled.
The Denver Post: They came pretty close this year. Sen. Chris Hansen, a Denver Democrat, has been working for months on a bill he planned to sponsor with the Weld County Republican Sen. John Cooke. On the 100th day of this 120-day legislative session, Hansen and his main ally in the lobby, the Colorado Press Association, said the bill had been nixed for now.
Lawmakers give bill to reform Colorado's secretive judicial discipline system a 'significant overhaul'
The Denver Post: The revised bill now reduces the amount of information that the Judicial Department will have to provide the Commission on Judicial Discipline regarding complaints about judges, and enshrines some confidentiality — but requires the Judicial Department to provide an explanation and summary of information it withholds from the commission.
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