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Judge denies motion to dismiss in Colorado Springs ‘hate crime hoax’ case
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Approved, KRDO.COM, Local

Judge denies motion to dismiss in Colorado Springs ‘hate crime hoax’ case

By Celeste Springer | KRDO COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - It's been six months since three people were indicted after allegedly staging a hate crime to help a Black Colorado Springs candidate, Mayor Yemi Mobolade, win an election. On Friday, a judge denied a motion to dismiss, signalling that the case will move forward and ultimately be heard by a jury. In April 2023, just before the Colorado Springs mayoral election, video of a burning cross in front of then-candidate Yemi Mobolade's campaign sign was sent to media outlets. The sign had also been painted with the "n-word." The event was thought to be a racially motivated attack on Mobolade, who was a Black candidate running against a white opponent. According to court records, investigators believe Derrick Berna...
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Mail carrier admits to ballot theft, voter fraud in Mesa County election case
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Approved, Local, Trending Politics

Mail carrier admits to ballot theft, voter fraud in Mesa County election case

By Mark Steffen | Trending Politics A Colorado U.S. postal worker has pleaded guilty to trying to rig the 2024 election, according to prosecutors who announced they reached a deal that may involve prison time. The absurd case involved Vicki Stuart, a 64-year-old former employee of the U.S. Postal Service who on Monday admitted to forgery and identify theft in an attempt to steal ballots and cast votes in the names of other Americans during the 2024 election. Stuart had been charged with 34 counts in connection with her ballot theft scheme, according to Colorado Public Radio. She and another woman in Mesa County allegedly stole dozens of mail-in ballots as they passed through her truck, opening and filling them out for their preferred candidate rather than delivering them to their ...
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Colorado Senate committee rejects judicial watchdog picks over misconduct concerns
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Approved, denvergazette.com, State

Colorado Senate committee rejects judicial watchdog picks over misconduct concerns

By David Migoya | Denver Gazette In a bipartisan rebuke of how a years-long scandal has been handled, a Colorado Senate committee on Monday made the rare move of not approving the gubernatorial reappointment of the top two members of the state’s Commission on Judicial Discipline. Just months after voters statewide overwhelmingly chose to change how Colorado disciplines judges, the state Senate Judiciary Committee voted — 4-3, with two Democrats joining the panel’s two lone Republicans — to offer an unfavorable recommendation to the full Senate on the reappointment of Mindy Sooter and Jim Carpenter, the chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the 10-member commission. It was the committee’s last official act as the legislative session rushed to a close on Wednesday. The full...
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Flawed filing stalls Peters’ release bid as DOJ weighs in and President Trump demanding action
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Flawed filing stalls Peters’ release bid as DOJ weighs in and President Trump demanding action

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics A federal judge on Monday warned former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters that her request to be released while she appeals her 2024 criminal convictions appears to be brought improperly and may be subject to dismissal. Jurors convicted Peters for her role in a security breach of her office's voting equipment. She is currently serving a nine-year sentence of incarceration. While the state's Court of Appeals reviews her conviction, Peters has filed a federal petition for "habeas corpus," a legal tool used to challenge one's confinement. Specifically, Peters is seeking to be released on bond while her appeal moves forward in state court. In a May 5 order, Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak identified a problem with the petition....
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Northeast Colorado judge resigns after allegations of undisclosed ties to former client
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Approved, Colorado Politics, Local

Northeast Colorado judge resigns after allegations of undisclosed ties to former client

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics A judge from northeastern Colorado resigned at the end of Wednesday, and, in doing so, admitted to allegations that he used his position to aid a friend in her court case and did not disclose his personal connection in other cases involving that friend. District Court Judge Justin B. Haenlein presided in the 13th Judicial District of Morgan, Logan, Sedgwick, Phillips, Washington, Yuma and Kit Carson counties. He had been off the bench since the Colorado Supreme Court suspended him in November, pending a disciplinary investigation. In an April 29 letter addressed to Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez, he announced his resignation effective on April 30. Also on April 29, Haenlein's attorney submitted a filing to the three-member...
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Judge overrules Elizabeth School District, forces return of books parents objected to
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Judge overrules Elizabeth School District, forces return of books parents objected to

By Michael Karlik | Denver Gazette An Elbert County school district confirmed on Friday to a federal judge that it has restored 19 restricted books to library shelves after she found the school board likely violated the First Amendment rights of students and authors by removing the titles for ideological reasons. Earlier this week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit declined to suspend, or stay, a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney. Previously, Sweeney ordered the Elizabeth School District to return the restricted books to libraries, and she set a specific date of April 5. The 10th Circuit put that order temporarily on hold while it took an initial look at the case, before ultimately deciding against intervention...
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Can Gross Dam expansion be completed before activists and courts dry it up?
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Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Can Gross Dam expansion be completed before activists and courts dry it up?

By Jerd Smith | Colorado Sun As Save the Colorado and Denver Water prepare to face off in a federal courtroom Tuesday, water officials across the state are watching the Gross Dam expansion case closely for its environmental impact and its affect on water projects across the West. Kirk Klancke, a long-time Grand County environmentalist and president of the Colorado River Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited, said a decision that shuts down the $531 million water project, could also shut down 12 years of work on the Fraser River and its tributaries. Here’s why: Denver Water owns much of the Fraser with water rights dating back more than 100 years. And it is that water that has historically been piped through the Moffat Tunnel near Rollinsville to fill the existing Gross Reservoir. ...
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Gross Reservoir safety work can continue under appeals court ruling
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Approved, Local, The Colorado Sun

Gross Reservoir safety work can continue under appeals court ruling

By Michael Booth | Colorado Sun Denver Water may continue shoring up its partially-finished Gross Dam expansion in southwestern Boulder County until a May 6 U.S. District Court hearing detailing long-term safety issues of a permanent injunction against further construction, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals said late Friday.  The appeals court granted Denver Water’s request for a temporary stay of the halt to construction at least through the May hearing. “Denver Water makes numerous allegations of immediate and irreparable harm from the district court’s injunction of further dam construction,” the appeals court order said.  U.S. District Court Judge Christine Arguello had previously issued the injunction against further Denver Water construction on the dam raising, saying t...
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Court sides with new Colorado GOP Chair, blocks committee tied to former leadership
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Court sides with new Colorado GOP Chair, blocks committee tied to former leadership

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice A district judge in El Paso County has rejected an attempt by the Colorado Republican Party’s Investigative Committee—an entity formed under former chair Dave Williams—to intervene in a lawsuit that the party’s current leadership has moved to dismiss. In a ruling filed April 23, District Court Judge Amanda J. Philipps found that the Investigative Committee lacks standing and legal authority to join or intervene in the ongoing civil case, saying the group was assigned "limited tasks" and does not possess independent power to act on behalf of the Colorado Republican State Central Committee (CRC). "Absent an express statutory right, a subordinate state agency lacks standing or any other legal authority to obtain judicial rev...
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Tina Peters asks court for relief, feds ask for caution—judge asks why
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Approved, denvergazette.com, National, State

Tina Peters asks court for relief, feds ask for caution—judge asks why

By Michael Karlik | Denver Gazette A federal judge on Tuesday struggled to understand why the United States government is claiming an "interest" in a relatively narrow issue related to the prosecution and conviction of former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters. Although the government now alleges Peters' state criminal case may have been politically motivated, the U.S. Department of Justice's attorney would not say what evidence, if any, the department has to that effect. When the federal government files a statement asserting it has an interest in a case, "the typical situation is, 'We have an interest, judge, that you may not know about and we want you to be aware of it,'" said Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak during a hearing. "I’m just struggling to see what you all br...
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