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Judge rejects Denver Public Schools’ attempt to block Trump ICE guidance
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Approved, Chalkbeat Colorado, Local, Top Stories

Judge rejects Denver Public Schools’ attempt to block Trump ICE guidance

By Melanie Asmar | Chalkbeat Colorado A federal judge on Friday rejected Denver Public Schools’ attempt to reinstate a federal policy that treated schools as “sensitive locations” where immigration enforcement should only take place if there is immediate danger to the public. U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico said there is little practical difference between the prior policy, the last iteration of which was issued in 2021 under former President Biden, and a pair of memos issued by the Trump administration in January. “The concern was that there would be no limitations or no protections for schools, necessarily, under the new memo,” Domenico said in a ruling from the bench. “That is an overstatement. And the fact that there have been no actions on school property in the ...
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Colorado House’s Judiciary Committee advances bill to add 15 judges
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Colorado House’s Judiciary Committee advances bill to add 15 judges

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics Colorado's House Judiciary Committee advanced a bill to establish 15 new judgeships throughout the state by a vote of 9-2 on Tuesday. Senate Bill 24 is the Judicial Department's top priority this year. As originally proposed, it would have added 26 judge seats in the trial courts and three seats on the Court of Appeals. The numbers did not come close to the projection calculated by a series of recent workload studies, which estimated Colorado needs approximately 43 more district judges, 20 more county judges and six appellate judges. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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In Department of Justice inquiry to Tina Peters’ case, the question is whether she is a political prisoner
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Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

In Department of Justice inquiry to Tina Peters’ case, the question is whether she is a political prisoner

By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice If an election official was sentenced to nine years in prison, you might assume they had been caught stuffing ballot boxes or rigging results. But, what if they were convicted for preserving election records? That’s the case of Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk, whose actions led to a landmark prosecution — one that has now drawn scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice.  Federal authorities are stepping in to review whether her sentence was excessive and whether her prosecution was influenced politically. The case also beckons scrutiny over the intersection of election integrity, the rule of law and the fair application of justice. The DOJ’s Statement of Interest, filed March 3 by Acting Assistant Att...
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Twitter, former landlord ask Boulder judge to decide who broke lease at Colorado office
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Approved, Courthouse News Service, Local

Twitter, former landlord ask Boulder judge to decide who broke lease at Colorado office

By Amanda Pampuro  | Courthouse News It took $40 million and two years to turn the 64,557 square-foot railyards building in Boulder, Colorado, into Twitter’s new flagship headquarters, complete with a kitchen, showers for bike commuters and a grand staircase down the center to connect all four floors. “There was no question that buildout was unorthodox,” attorney Jose Ramiez, who represents landlord Lot 2 SBO, said during opening arguments Monday. “One of the biggest issues the building is having now is that they cut a hole in the center of the building, they wanted all the floors connected by a staircase, but they cut through structural elements, so that has to go.” READ THE FULL STORY AT COURTHOUSE NEWS
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Prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters to be reviewed by Justice Department
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters to be reviewed by Justice Department

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics The U.S. Department of Justice has announced it will review the Colorado case that led to the prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters. In May 2021, Peters was convicted of multiple felonies and misdemeanors related to a security breach involving election equipment at the Mesa County Clerk and Recorder's Office. The Justice Department's intervention is connected to a federal lawsuit Peters filed against the Larimer County Sheriff, seeking to be released from jail while the appeals process moves forward. Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison, with six months to be served in county jail and the rest in state prison. She was convicted of four felonies, including three counts of attempting to influence a public se...
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Appeals court says state campaign finance enforcement framework is constitutional
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Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

Appeals court says state campaign finance enforcement framework is constitutional

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics Colorado's second-highest court agreed last week that the state's current method of adjudicating campaign finance complaints is constitutional and is not the "very definition of tyranny." For several years, state law has allowed any person to file a complaint alleging a campaign finance violation, which the Colorado Secretary of State's Office then screens, decides whether to dismiss or investigate, and potentially imposes a penalty. Legislators enacted the process after a federal judge decided in 2018 that the prior system unconstitutionally "outsourced" enforcement to individual, inexperienced complainants. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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10th Circuit affirms qualified immunity for officer involved in Lakewood shooting
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Approved, Law Week Colorado, Local

10th Circuit affirms qualified immunity for officer involved in Lakewood shooting

By Law Week Colorado Jason Waterhouse was high on methamphetamine and acting destructively in his sister’s home, according to the opinion. By the time Lakewood Police Department officers arrived, he had barricaded himself in the basement.  Officers tried for more than an hour to get him to come out, but, rather than cooperating, Waterhouse started a fire. Seven officers went down to the basement to try and find the source of the fire and extricate Waterhouse. They saw him shoving a large stick through the wall before slamming the bedroom door shut. It quickly became apparent that the fire and the smoke were more serious than the officers had anticipated, and they were ordered to evacuate.  READ THE FULL STORY AT LAW WEEK COLORADO
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Federal judge blocks Colorado from withholding funding from Christian preschools
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Approved, Courthouse News Service, State

Federal judge blocks Colorado from withholding funding from Christian preschools

By Amanda Pampuro  | Courthouse News A federal judge on Monday granted summary judgment preventing Colorado from withholding universal preschool funding from a rural Christian preschool based on its religious beliefs relating to gender and sexual orientation that violate the state’s anti-discrimination requirement. "I do not doubt the harm that discrimination may cause to the precocious preschoolers who understand the concept, or that religious parents with gay or transgender children may suffer if plaintiff is permitted to exclude them from its preschool. But the state’s effort to prevent that harm does not permit it to abridge plaintiff’s First Amendment rights,” wrote U.S. District Judge Daniel Domenico in a 15-page opinion. READ THE FULL STORY AT COURTHOUSE NEWS...
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Man found guilty of killing Colorado parole officer with vehicle in attempt to flee
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Approved, gazette.com, State

Man found guilty of killing Colorado parole officer with vehicle in attempt to flee

By Zachary Dupont | The Gazette A Colorado Springs man was found guilty of multiple charges, including vehicular homicide, at trial on Wednesday for killing a parole officer with his car in 2023.  Justin Kula, 42, was accused of killing Pueblo parole officer Christine Guerin Sandoval with his car after he attempted to flee from her and two other parole officers who were attempting to make contact with Kula on Sept. 28, 2023.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE
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Colorado Springs woman embezzled more than $123k from local Little League, court documents allege
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Approved, gazette.com, Local

Colorado Springs woman embezzled more than $123k from local Little League, court documents allege

By Mackenzie Bodell | The Gazette A volunteer treasurer for the Academy Little League in Colorado Springs has been accused of stealing more than $123,000 from the organization over a year and a half that paid for personal shopping sprees and legal fees.  Michelle Gorr, 51, was arrested in October after the president of the organization, Jacob Larkee, reported the theft in December 2023, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Gazette. The affidavit alleges Gorr admitted to using the league's bank account for personal reasons in an email to Larkee in December 2023. She claimed she was involved in a "contentious divorce" and needed the money to offset legal fees.  READ THE FULL STORY AT THE GAZETTE
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