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Three senior judges in Colorado still haven’t filed personal financial disclosures with state
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Three senior judges in Colorado still haven’t filed personal financial disclosures with state

By David Migoya | Denver Gazette, via Colorado Politics Just months after Colorado officials reminded dozens of senior judges they were required by law to annually file personal financial disclosure statements with the Secretary of State's Office —  and 14 months after it was exposed that nearly none of them had — three still have not complied, The Denver Gazette has found. A fourth did so only after he was contacted by The Gazette earlier last month. One of those senior jurists, former 5th Judicial District Chief Judge W. Terry Ruckriegle in Breckenridge, hasn’t filed the document with the state since 2008, two years before he left the full-time bench, records show. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Judge orders Arizona Secretary of State to turn over names of voters who registered without proof of citizenship
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Approved, National, National Review

Judge orders Arizona Secretary of State to turn over names of voters who registered without proof of citizenship

By Brittany Bernstein | National Review Today’s ruling comes one month after Arizona secretary of state Adrian Fontes, a Democrat elected in 2022, revealed that a computer glitch had allowed the affected individuals to register to vote without providing proof of citizenship. The Strong Communities Foundation of Arizona, also known as EZAZ.org, sued the state under Arizona’s Public Records Law, arguing that the statute requires Fontes to turn over the list to members of the public who request it. According to a press release from America First Legal, which represented EZAZ.org in the case, the secretary of state “regularly produces voter lists in response to such requests,” but in this case, Fontes refused to release the records.  Fontes had argued that his office didn’t have ...
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Bzdek: When judges break the rules, it’s time to judge the judges
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Approved, Commentary, gazette.com, State

Bzdek: When judges break the rules, it’s time to judge the judges

By Vince Bzdek | Commentary, The Gazette Despite five years of searing reports by investigative reporter David Migoya into serious problems afflicting the Colorado Supreme Court, the commission that reviews judicial performance gave all the justices on the ballot this year glowing recommendations. The two most senior members of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez and Justice Brian D. Boatright, plus junior Justice Maria E. Berkenkotter, will be on the ballot for a retention vote. Now it’s up to voters to decide if their coverup and unethical handling of a pay-for-silence scandal, their stonewalling of investigations into that scandal, and their rule breaking and conflicts of interest uncovered by Migoya warrant a “NO” vote. The three justices involved in t...
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A case on ‘transgender care’ for minors is headed to the Supreme Court
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Approved, National, TownHall.com

A case on ‘transgender care’ for minors is headed to the Supreme Court

By Madeline Leesman | Townhall This month, medical watchdog organization Do No Harm (DNH) launched a first-of-its-kind database revealing the medical facilities that are providing so-called “gender-affirming care” for minors. This encompasses irreversible sex reassignment surgery, as Townhall covered. DNH revealed that over 5,000 children in the United States had undergone some form of gender transition surgery. This includes procedures like mastectomies. READ THE FULL STORY AT TOWNHALL
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Return to Nature owners plead guilty to wire fraud charge at federal court hearing
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local

Return to Nature owners plead guilty to wire fraud charge at federal court hearing

By Zachary Dupont | Colorado Politics, via The Gazette Return to Nature Funeral Home owners Jon and Carie Hallford appeared in federal court on Thursday to accept a plea deal, which could land the couple in prison for up to 15 years.  In September, Jon and Carie Hallford, the owners of Return to Nature Funeral Home, filed a notice of disposition and a motion requesting a change of plea on the 15 counts of wire fraud the pair face in federal court.  The funeral home, about 35 miles southwest of Colorado Springs, came under a multi-agency investigation in October after reports of a complaint about a foul odor in the area. Investigators said they found nearly 190 bodies in various states of decomposition that were not properly stored. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO...
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Elbert County commissioners seek to dismiss lawsuit filed by county residents
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, Local

Elbert County commissioners seek to dismiss lawsuit filed by county residents

By Deborah Grigsby | Colorado Politics, via Denver Gazette Three Elbert County Commissioners named in a lawsuit alleging they conducted official business outside of public purview have asked the court to dismiss the case that could hold them financially responsible for contracts they awarded. In September, a group of Elbert County residents sued the board and commissioners Chris Richardson, Dallas Schroeder, and Grant Thayer in their official capacities after it was discovered they gave hefty employment contracts to County Manager Shawn Fletcher and longtime County Attorney Bart Greer.  The defendants, as stated in court documents filed on Friday, assert that two plaintiffs' three claims are moot because the county approved the employment contracts in question at a speci...
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Lawsuit dismissed to remove road tax extension from Colorado Springs ballot
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Approved, gazette.com, Local

Lawsuit dismissed to remove road tax extension from Colorado Springs ballot

By Breeanna Jent | The Gazette An El Paso County District Court judge this month dismissed a lawsuit that sought to remove the so-called 2C road tax question from Colorado Springs' November ballot. Douglas Bruce, the author of Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights amendment, filed a three-page civil lawsuit against the city of Colorado Springs in late September, alleging the city violated TABOR requirements a dozen times in its approved ballot language for  ballot issue 2C that asks to extend a dedicated sales tax for local road maintenance. On Nov. 5, voters will ultimately decide whether to extend the current 0.57% temporary sales and use tax for the next 10 years, from 2026 through the end of 2035. The 2C tax equates to 5.7 cents on every $10 purchase. The current tax is schedul...
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A look inside the numbers in Colorado’s antitrust Kroger-Albertsons merger trial
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

A look inside the numbers in Colorado’s antitrust Kroger-Albertsons merger trial

By Tamara Chuang | The Colorado Sun After three weeks of testimony in Denver District Court, a megamerger trial in Colorado is nearing its conclusion. There’s been a lot to take in during the sometimes 10-hour days and attorneys from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Kroger and Albertsons are scheduled to wrap up Thursday.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Colorado justices, 4-2, rule tenants have right to a jury trial in eviction cases
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado justices, 4-2, rule tenants have right to a jury trial in eviction cases

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics Noting that trial courts across the state are routinely denying tenants the ability to have a jury hear their eviction cases, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that certain types of disputes do qualify for a jury trial after all. By 4-2, the Supreme Court's majority acknowledged the concern that county courts, where evictions largely are heard, could become overwhelmed if even a fraction of tenants demand jury trials. But Justice Carlos A. Samour Jr. explained numerous other states honor the right to a jury trial and several factors work to limit the actual frequency of eviction trials. "And of those cases that do proceed to trial, many are ineligible for a jury trial," Samour wrote in the Oct. 21 opinion, given that a jury would...
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Decision ’24: Judicial retention on Colorado Court of Appeals
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Decision ’24: Judicial retention on Colorado Court of Appeals

By Rocky Mountain Voice | Commentary In addition to 14 amendments and statutory propositions appearing on ballots statewide and local ballot measures, voters are being asked to consider the retention of a number of state judges. The issue, readers have shared with the Rocky Mountain Voice, is finding complete information in order to make an educated decision on these positions. Below, is the second installment of our judicial retention review, the Colorado Court of Appeals. The five judges to review are, as they appear on your ballot: Hon. Stephanie Dunn, Hon. Jerry N. Jones, Hon. W. Eric Kuhn, Hon. Gilbert M. Román and Hon. Timothy J. Schutz. Information on other courts and judges will be presented in future installments of this series. Hon. Stephanie Dunn Background: Judg...
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