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.
The public release of the amended autopsy report on the 2019 death of Elijah McClain ended a legal fight that didn’t need to happen, said Steve Zansberg, president of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.
Judge denies motion to hold Woodland Park school board in contempt over open meetings issue
A judge declined to hold members of the Woodland Park school board in contempt for allegedly violating his April order to list meeting agenda items “clearly, honestly and forthrightly.”
Adams County coroner declines to answer questions about Elijah McClain's amended autopsy report
The Denver Gazette:: The Adams County coroner's office declined to answer specific questions about the newly released autopsy report on 23-year-old Elijah McClain's death.
Book ban efforts in Colorado see little success amid national uptick
Colorado Newsline:: While efforts to ban books in certain genres have increased across the country as of late, Colorado has also seen a few book-ban efforts — but not nearly as many as the rest of the U.S.
Metro student government responds to open meeting violations
MetMedia: After nearly half a dozen times of trying to reach members and advisers of Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Student Government: The Student Advocacy Council, The Metropolitan received a response to emailed questions on Sept. 26.
Release of revised Elijah McClain autopsy marks win in transparency, watchdog group and coroner say
The Colorado Sun: A government watchdog group called the move a win for transparency after the previous ruling kept the autopsy report secret for months.
Judge orders the unredacted release of Elijah McClain's updated autopsy report
Colorado Public Radio: A report on the autopsy of Elijah McClain’s must be released to the public unredacted, according to an order by Denver District Court Chief Judge Christopher J. Baumann.
Carman: Cops are slow learners when it comes to lessons of the video age
The Colorado Sun: When sheriff’s deputies shot Glass as he sat inside his car, they knew their body cameras were recording the entire incident. There would be no chance to spin their way out of this. What were they thinking?
Editorial: Is public best served before, after financial record audits?
The Durango Herald: Citizens deserve disclosure, whether they’re suspicious or just curious or see politics in financial decisions. But there’s a line. We just don’t know exactly where it is. And we hope the court makes that line very clear.
Travers: Colorado newspapers need new models, better owners
The Colorado Sun: And, more importantly for the public, I hope it might serve as a catalyst for action to find new models or better owners for the papers telling the story of Colorado communities and holding the powerful accountable.
Judge won't yet consider First Amendment defense from man arrested after livestreaming during King Soopers shooting
The Denver Post: A Boulder County judge allowed the criminal case to go forward against the man charged with police obstruction after he livestreamed the 2021 mass shooting at the Table Mesa King Soopers grocery store.
Here's what happens when a Denver TV news stations gets newspaper-style beats
The Denver Post: CBS News Colorado is rolling out a grand experiment in newspaper-style beats for nearly a dozen of its reporters. The idea is to connect them more closely with the communities in which they live, placing their faces front-and-center for residents who want to know more about the crime, politics, business and culture of their neighborhoods.
Adams 14 appoints new board member after withholding applicant names
Chalkbeat Colorado: The district refused to release the submitted letters of interest or publish the names of the people who applied to the board vacancy. Instead, the district invited the public to a community forum at the high school to hear from the people interested in the board vacancy — without naming who they might hear from.
MetMedia: In multiple sessions that broke Colorado Open Meeting and Sunshine Laws, MSU Denver’s student government held meetings last summer and this fall where budget, co-chair elections and weekly meeting times were decided.
Kevin Priola used text messages during party switch to avoid open records scrutiny
The Denver Gazette: In the week prior to Colorado Sen. Kevin Priola announcing that he was flipping political parties, the soon-to-be-Democrat said in a text message to his soon-to-be party leader that he would share certain information with him but wanted to avoid the state’s email system so as not to leave a paper trail subject to public scrutiny.
Colorado lawmakers seek constitutional change, ombudsman, open disciplinary hearings against judges
The Denver Gazette: A constitutional amendment proposed by a panel of Colorado legislators would create an independent three-person board to handle disciplinary hearings against judges, one of several recommendations to change how the state handles their discipline.
Durango man files lawsuit against the city after being denied financial records
The Durango Herald: A Durango man has filed a lawsuit against the city of Durango claiming he was wrongly denied financial records having to do with the city’s lodgers tax collections in 2021.
In opening brief, Boulder organizers sued for defamation by former council candidate make their case for free political speech
Boulder Reporting Lab::Political organizers who were sued by former Boulder City Council candidate Steve Rosenblum for alleged defamation during the 2021 election have filed their opening brief in the Colorado Court of Appeals, setting the stage for what is expected to be a high-stakes and lengthy legal battle over free speech protections.
Kellner and King: New data will allow the public to analyze how their DA is doing
The Denver Post: Transparency is the core of public trust, and that trust must be earned. For the past year, we led a bipartisan group of eight district attorneys to dramatically increase transparency about how criminal justice works in our state and to shed light on our part in it.
Eight Colorado DAs unveil detailed data about prosecutions, racial disparities
The Denver Post: Eight Colorado district attorneys released detailed data about their operations in an attempt to be more transparent with the public amid broader criticism of racial disparities in and distrust of the U.S. criminal justice system.
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