Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Courts

How Trump’s election could fortify a conservative Supreme Court majority
Approved, National, Washington Examiner

How Trump’s election could fortify a conservative Supreme Court majority

By Kaelan Deese | Washington Examiner President-elect Donald Trump could have a chance to solidify the Supreme Court’s Republican-appointed majority for decades to come after he was elected to a second term in the White House on Tuesday. Several of the high court’s Republican-appointed justices are in their 70s and may be tempted to retire with a Republican in the White House for the next four years. That decision would not change the balance of power on the court but could give Trump, who appointed three justices in his first term, an opportunity to extend the longevity of its 6-3 conservative majority. John Roberts, the chief justice, is 70, while Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas are 74 and 76, respectively. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE WASHINGTON EXAMIN...
District court denies Libertarian Party’s plea for a hand-count of ballots in Colorado following password leak
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

District court denies Libertarian Party’s plea for a hand-count of ballots in Colorado following password leak

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice Denver District Court Judge Kandace Gerdes has denied an appeal to seek a hand-count of election returns and other relief sought by the Libertarian Party in a suit against Secretary of State Jena Griswold and the State of Colorado. Counsel for the Libertarian Party had argued the public disclosure of passwords on the secretary of state's website for a period lasting four months before removal was unprecedented, and so an unprecedented resolution was needed. The case was filed Friday, Nov. 1, and heard in Gerdes' courtroom Monday afternoon. https://rockymountainvoice.com/2024/11/unprecedented-mistake-by-secretary-griswold-calls-for-unprecedented-ruling-libertarian-party-argues-in-district-court "In dismissing the petition, the district...
‘Unprecedented’ mistake by Secretary Griswold calls for unprecedented ruling, Libertarian Party argues in District Court
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

‘Unprecedented’ mistake by Secretary Griswold calls for unprecedented ruling, Libertarian Party argues in District Court

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice DENVER -- Some daylight may have been breathed Monday afternoon into what some have called the largest coverup in the history of Colorado's mail-in balloting era, and perhaps ever in its secretary of state's office. A day before Election Day, the top ranking officials in the Colorado Libertarian Party were in a Denver courtroom down the street from where Secretary of State Jena Griswold hours earlier made what sounded like a mea culpa over a password maintenance blunder that may affect half the counties in Colorado. At issue is hundreds of passwords which were posted in a public place on the secretary of state's website and discovered by an expert of voting system components, only after they may have been public for four months. "I am regr...
Georgia absentee ballot ruling provides legal victory for RNC on eve of election
Approved, Fox News, National

Georgia absentee ballot ruling provides legal victory for RNC on eve of election

By Emma Colton | Fox News The Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday that absentee ballots that were mailed late to voters in Cobb County will only be counted if they arrive back to election officials by Election Day, sparking GOP leadership to take a victory lap.  "HUGE election integrity victory in Georgia. Democrat-run Cobb County wanted to accept 3,000 absentee ballots AFTER the Election Day deadline. We took this case to the Georgia Supreme Court," RNC chair Michael Whatley posted to X on Monday.  "We just got word that we WON the case. Election Day is Election Day – not the week after. We will keep fighting, keep winning, and keep sharing updates," he added.  READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX NEWS
Three senior judges in Colorado still haven’t filed personal financial disclosures with state
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
Judge orders Arizona Secretary of State to turn over names of voters who registered without proof of citizenship
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 ...
Bzdek: When judges break the rules, it’s time to judge the judges
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...
A case on ‘transgender care’ for minors is headed to the Supreme Court
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
Return to Nature owners plead guilty to wire fraud charge at federal court hearing
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...
Elbert County commissioners seek to dismiss lawsuit filed by county residents
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...