Jeffco Kids First: Court sides with defamer, silences truth in heartbreaking reversal

Lindsay Datko | Commentary, Jeffco Kids First

The sharp sting of brutal injustice cuts deep, searing the soul. Your time spent reading this is my measure of justice, and for that, I am profoundly grateful.

“In reviewing the record, the Court identifies instances of Defendants’ conduct that a trier of fact could find as clear and convincing evidence of their anger and hostility toward Plaintiffs to sufficiently show actual malice.” Judge Loewer

On the afternoon of October 7, 2022, my phone lit up with text messages: “You need an attorney ASAP.”  “Be prepared, there’s an article that just came out.”  Everything went silent except the ringing in my ears as I read the article, the world spinning around me. I remember the exact square-footage of my kitchen I was standing in. With my 4 children playing nearby, I bolted to the garage to protect them from my confusion, tears, and despair. 

My heart shattered into a million pieces. My character had just been assassinated, Jeffco Kids First (JKF) placed at severe risk, and my hope of returning to my teaching career stolen. My husband eventually found me there, doubled over.  

I had just been accused of exploiting vulnerable children on the front page of 23 publications across my home state of 38 years. JKF had flourished through integrity, service, respect, relationships, and accuracy. In one malicious publication—all that Jeffco Kids First had accomplished-everything I had worked for my entire life as a teacher and protector of children— crumbled before my eyes.I painfully learned in that moment that the power of the media is a double-edged sword, as capable of bad as it is good.

Determined to defend the truth and the reputation of those who stand with Jeffco Kids First, I took a year to contemplate and make the difficult decision to take legal action against Colorado Community Media and Arvada Press reporter Rylee Dunn. 

In 2019, Governor Polis signed the anti-SLAPP rule into law, protecting defendants from meritless lawsuits on matters of public concern while aiming to safeguard The First Amendment. Anti-SLAPP laws allow a defendant to file a motion to strike or dismiss the lawsuit early in the legal process.

Though this serves a noble purpose for ethical media, it unfortunately shields malicious reporters who flout journalistic ethics, leaving libel victims without legal recourse.

Colorado Community Media’s legal representative filed a motion to dismiss our lawsuit based on this anti-SLAPP rule. JKF defended the merits of our case and substantiated that the claims were not frivolous and that in fact actual malice had been involved in the piece.

On July 3, 2024, I received the county court’s decision.  The court’s order validated the injustice and the merit of the suit. Relief overtook me. This time, there was no ringing in my ears and fireworks lit the sky the very next evening.

After finding clear and convincing evidence of actual malice and a reasonable likelihood we would prevail in court, two respected Jefferson County judges allowed the case to proceed to trial.  

One judge dedicated an estimated 80 hours to crafting a meticulously detailed response, adorned with footnotes so exceptionally thorough that multiple attorneys have hailed them as remarkably rare and worthy of being submitted for a law-review article. 

After years of relentless legal effort and overwhelming financial strain, the Colorado Court of Appeals disregarded the merits that had already been recognized and the legal standards we had met.

With a single ruling, the district court’s decision was overturned—and I was ordered to pay the media’s legal fees. 

Rylee Dunn and Colorado Community Media won an award for the article from the Society of Professional Journalists—which touts their dedication to “stimulating high standards of ethical behavior.”  Yet behind the glossy front page and the full four-page spread, circulated across 23 community publications and the Colorado Sun, lies reporting that is anything but ethical: devious, dishonest, and misleading. 

READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT JEFFCO KIDS FIRST

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