Judge OKs class action status in Colo. immigration suit
COLORADO SPRINGS – A judge has granted class-action status to a lawsuit accusing a Colorado sheriff’s department of improperly holding people for possible deportation by federal authorities. District Court Judge Eric Bentley issued the decision on Tuesday, expanding the lawsuit to any current and future El Paso County Jail inmates who federal authorities ask the sheriff’s department to detain. The Colorado American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in February on behalf of two men being held in the jail, arguing that state law required their release.The sheriff’s office has argued that it is housing immigrants on federal agents’ behalf.
The ACLU has said the suit is the first known challenge to an attempt by federal immigration authorities to work around court rulings that limit how they work with local sheriffs.
Colorado justices side with medical malpractice victim in calculating damages owed
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 11 hours ago
The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday rejected a doctor’s argument that would have limited the amount of money a patient severely injured at birth would receive for his successful medical malpractice lawsuit two decades later. Under state law, damages in...
Divided Colorado Supreme Court says defendants liable for possessing others’ debit cards even if unusable
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 12 hours ago
The Colorado Supreme Court, by 5-2, rejected the idea on Monday that prosecutors need to prove a debit card is functional in order to convict a defendant of unlawfully possessing someone else’s “financial device.” The majority believed Colorado law was...
Colorado justices, 5-2, say police money used for drug deals not subject to crime victim restitution
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 13 hours ago
The Colorado Supreme Court, by 5-2, ruled on Monday that the state’s crime victim restitution law does not obligate defendants to repay law enforcement agencies for unrecovered money they use to buy drugs undercover. The government maintained the restitution law...
Supreme Court lifts restrictions on LA immigration stops set after agents swept up US citizens
Lindsay Whitehurst
lindsay.whitehurst@associatedpress.com
Updated 15 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for federal agents to conduct sweeping immigration operations for now in Los Angeles, the latest victory for President Donald Trump’s administration at the high court. The conservative majority lifted...
Colorado Supreme Court walks back decision allowing localities to broadly permit violations of noise limits
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 6 hours ago
The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday that the state’s noise pollution law does not allow local governments to categorically permit any entity to host events on private property that exceed the statewide decibel limits. The question had divided the...
Uncollared Wolf Believed Responsible for Livestock Deaths Shot by CPW
Marianne Goodland
marianne.goodland@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 11 hours ago
The summer Elk Fire that burned more than 14,000 acres, mainly in Rio Blanco County, was more than just a problem for firefighters and area residents. It also hindered efforts by staff from Colorado Parks and Wildlife to kill an...
Survey: Coloradans skeptical of party politics, economic outlook remains grim
Colorado Politics
nick@midtc.com
Updated 13 hours ago
Nearly 50% of voters in Colorado are unaffiliated with a political party, according to the latest data from the Secretary of State’s Office. A recent survey from the conservative-leaning polling group Magellan Strategies appears to confirm Coloradans’ overall distrust of...
Colorado Supreme Court finds Lakewood unconstitutionally expanded phone provider tax
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 16 hours ago
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Lakewood improperly expanded the scope of a 1969 tax ordinance twice to encompass cell phone providers without holding the popular vote the state constitution requires. A Jefferson County judge previously determined the...
El Paso County settles developer’s wrongful prosecution lawsuit for $3 million
CHRISTOPHER OSHER
christopher_osher@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 17 hours ago
El Paso County has reached a $3 million settlement with the developer Ray Marshall to resolve his federal lawsuit alleging a former investigator for the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office fabricated evidence and withheld evidence from his criminal defense lawyers....
In Space Command fight, ‘national security should trump everything’
Mary Shinn
mary_shinn@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 18 hours ago
Colorado lawmakers say President Donald Trump’s decision to move U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado Springs to Alabama discounts national security concerns and could yet be overturned. “National security should trump everything,” said former U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs....
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Federal judge orders Lamborn onto primary ballot
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams to add U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn to June’s Republican primary ballot and said Williams can’t enforce a state law requiring candidates’ petition circulators to be Colorado residents. The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Philip Brimmer means Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican serving his sixth term […]
Colo. sues Trump administration over census citizenship question
Colorado is suing the Trump administration to keep census takers in 2020 from asking about citizenship. Gov. John Hickenlooper said Tuesday afternoon that Colorado will join the lawsuit by a coalition of 18 states and Washington, D.C., as well as nine cities, four counties and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “We have a responsibility to […]