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Judge Barrett refuses to step aside in Peters case, defends sentencing math
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Judge Barrett refuses to step aside in Peters case, defends sentencing math

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Judge Matthew Barrett denied Tina Peters' motion to disqualify him on Monday afternoon. In a 16-page order, he accepted every factual claim in the defense affidavits as true, then concluded none of them meet the legal standard for recusal. In a footnote on page 15, he answered the math the defense had used to challenge his letter to the governor. Barrett's order, filed at 3:37 p.m., clears the procedural condition he had cited as the reason he could not rule on Peters' renewed motion for bond pending appeal.  The bond question now sits on his desk under the 48-hour window Colorado Appellate Rule 9(b) sets for ruling on bond pending appeal. The defense's reply on that motion, filed late Sunday night, set up the dispute that follows—a fa...
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Colorado Student Granted Religious Exemption From School’s Digital Monitoring System
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Westword, Approved, Local

Colorado Student Granted Religious Exemption From School’s Digital Monitoring System

By Hannah Metzger | Westword "The district is deeply committed to honoring parental rights." Hail Satan? A young member of the Satanic Temple was granted a religious accommodation from the Elizabeth School District, arguing that the district’s digital hall pass system conflicts with her beliefs. The parents of the Elizabeth High School student had requested that she be exempted from the system, but their request was initially denied, according to TST. That’s when the Temple’s lawyers stepped in. “This was a cut-and-dry case of a TST member’s bodily autonomy being violated by invasive digital controls,” says Eliphaz Costus, campaign director of the Temple’s Protect Children Project. Using the digital hall pass system to monitor and restric...
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Peters’ defense says Barrett used facts that were never in evidence
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Peters’ defense says Barrett used facts that were never in evidence

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The state said Judge Matthew Barrett's sentencing remarks about Tina Peters were harsh words from the bench, not evidence of bias. Peters' legal team answered with a different question: how did the judge know she appeared on podcasts? Where did he get the words "snake oil" and "junk"? The state's response did not touch that argument. The judge being asked to step aside will decide it. Three filings hit the Mesa County docket between late Thursday and Friday morning. District Attorney Dan Rubinstein's office opposed Peters' motion to disqualify Barrett. Her attorneys replied by introducing a theory the state never touched—that Barrett's sentencing comments relied on an "extrajudicial source," meaning information the judge obtained from out...
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Supreme Court To Weigh Religious Freedom In Colorado Preschool Funding Case
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CNN, Approved, State

Supreme Court To Weigh Religious Freedom In Colorado Preschool Funding Case

By John Fritze | CNN The Supreme Court agreed Monday to review a Colorado law that requires preschools receiving taxpayer money to enroll children of same-sex couples — setting up an important First Amendment showdown at the high court that pits religious rights against LGBTQ families. At the same time, the court declined to hear another high-profile case involving a Massachusetts couple who said their school began treating their middle school child as genderqueer against their wishes. After years of allowing religious schools in some settings to receive state funding alongside secular schools, the 6-3 conservative court will now decide what to do when school leaders assert that anti-discrimination laws intended to protect gay and transgender people conflict with their...
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Before Peters is resentenced, Barrett must decide whether he keeps the case
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Before Peters is resentenced, Barrett must decide whether he keeps the case

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A Mesa County judge has ordered the state’s attorneys to respond to a motion seeking his removal from the Tina Peters case, setting up a legal fight that will determine who presides over her resentencing—and who decides whether she remains in prison while that process unfolds. In an April 22 order, District Court Judge Matthew Barrett directed the state to file a response “as soon as practicable,” with a deadline of April 27. The order does not resolve the issue. It moves it forward. Now the court must decide whether Barrett can remain on the case—and nothing else in district court moves until that question is answered. 2026-0422 ACTION TAKEN_VERIFIED MOTION TO DISQUALIFY JUDGE MATTHEW BARRETT - People Respond by 4-27Download ...
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Supreme Court Takes Up Colorado Preschool Case Testing Religious Freedom
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Supreme Court Takes Up Colorado Preschool Case Testing Religious Freedom

By Lindsay Whitehurst | The Denver Gazette WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will hear from Catholic preschools that say Colorado violated their religious rights by excluding them from a state-funded “universal” pre-kindergarten program over their admission policies. The court agreed on Monday to take up the appeal from St. Mary Catholic Parish in its challenge against a state program. That challenge is supported by the Trump administration. Joined by the Archdiocese of Denver, two Catholic institutions, St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton and St. Bernadette Catholic Parish in Lakewood, filed a lawsuit against the state of Colorado, alleging their preschools cannot participate in the publicly funded program because the church’s religious views on sexual o...
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Colorado Board Rejects Broad Right To Know Ballot Proposal Over Scope Concerns
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Colorado Freedom of Information, Approved, State

Colorado Board Rejects Broad Right To Know Ballot Proposal Over Scope Concerns

By Jeffrey A. Roberts | Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition A state board on Wednesday declined to set the title for a proposed fall ballot initiative that would enshrine in the Colorado Constitution “a fundamental right to know the affairs of all levels of state and local government.” Title Board Chair Theresa Conley said Initiative #286, proposed by Jon Caldara of the Independence Institute and Beth Hendrix of the League of Women Voters of Colorado, is too broad and therefore doesn’t meet the statutory and constitutional requirement that initiative titles concern a single subject. Signature gathering for a ballot petition cannot begin unless a ballot title and a petition form are approved. “Voters don’t know what they’re voting yes or no on,” Conley...
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After Supreme Court ruling Colorado advances controversial counseling and parental rights bills
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Christian Home Educators of Colorado, Approved, Commentary, State

After Supreme Court ruling Colorado advances controversial counseling and parental rights bills

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado Colorado may go down in history as the most ideologically extreme state in the nation. Between throwing President Trump off the ballot in 2024, persecuting Christian bakers and graphic designers, and banning free speech in religious counseling for minors dealing with sexual identity issues, Colorado is consistently striking out. The decisions made by our legal institutions are continually being overturned by the United States Supreme Court on basic constitutional arguments. Let’s take the state’s radical positions on gender theory. Just two weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 to reverse the Tenth Circuit decision on Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy for minors. The Court held that the Colorado...
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Congress Challenges Colorado Court Rule Limiting Immigration Enforcement Access
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Congress Challenges Colorado Court Rule Limiting Immigration Enforcement Access

By Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is seeking information from Colorado’s court administrator regarding a new requirement that attorneys certify they will not use court data for immigration enforcement, arguing it unlawfully obstructs federal law and compels political speech tied to the state’s “sanctuary” policies. Colorado, a blue state that has passed “sanctuary” laws, has been in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which has cracked down on illegal immigration. Colorado officials, meanwhile, have adopted a confrontational stance against both the administration and Trump’s policies, routinely criticizing the president and suing over an array of issues. Broadly speaking, “sanctuary” policies restrict or prohibit coop...
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Colorado Lawmakers Open Door To Unlimited Conversion Therapy Lawsuits After Supreme Court Ruling
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Complete Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Lawmakers Open Door To Unlimited Conversion Therapy Lawsuits After Supreme Court Ruling

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–Despite the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) recently slapping down Colorado’s ban on so-called “conversion therapy,” legislative Democrats are taking yet another swing at influencing conversations mental health professionals have with clients around gender indentity. This time around, it’s the threat of lawsuits at any time in the future, and with no limit on potential damages. As previously reported by Complete Colorado, SCOTUS in March struck down a 2019 statute barring state licensed therapists from engaging in “efforts to change an individual’s sexual orientation, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attraction”  The court held t...
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