Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government.

Colorado’s federal courts have announced their intentions if the lapse in congressional funding is prolonged, plus the nation’s highest court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in a First Amendment challenge out of Colorado.

In federal news

•  Both the U.S. District Court for Colorado and the Denver-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit have indicated they are operating more or less normally amid the government shutdown. But after Oct. 17, the judiciary will run out of money and there may be some changes, like oral arguments migrating to Zoom.

•  Tomorrow morning, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case of Chiles v. Salazar, which is a First Amendment challenge to Colorado’s prohibition on state-licensed counselors employing “conversion therapy” on LGBTQ children.

•  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upheld Colorado’s LGBTQ non-discrimination requirement as constitutional for providers who wish to receive public funding from the state’s universal preschool program.

•  The 10th Circuit clarified that someone who is seeking the cancellation of their deportation due to a hardship on their child must have a child who is under 21 at the time of the immigration judge’s decision, even if that decision is delayed for years and the child surpasses the age threshold.

•  The 10th Circuit granted an unusual request from both the prosecution and the defense to resentence a defendant for a lesser probation violation than a judge originally convicted him of.

•  A federal judge is allowing a jury to decide whether a former sheriff’s allegedly racist comments and alleged policies that disadvantaged female employees amounted to a hostile work environment.

•  A judge sided with Denver in the retaliation lawsuit brought by former mayoral candidate Lisa Calderón over the cancellation of her organization’s contract with the city.

•  A federal judge dismissed a challenge to a Colorado prison policy prohibiting law library resources from being used to support various types of lawsuits that typically involve frivolous claims.

•  A witness in an El Paso County murder case can’t be sued for allegedly falsifying his testimony, a judge decided.

Heard on appeal

•  By 5-2, the Colorado Supreme Court concluded the state’s prior version of its “three strikes” law complied with the U.S. Constitution, even though the legislature amended the law this year because of an assumed conflict with U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

•  The Court of Appeals determined Lochbuie couldn’t challenge the library services its residents are being provided under an intergovernmental agreement, but the court observed that the trial judge got mad at Lochbuie for things the town wasn’t actually saying.

•  Even though the Court of Appeals was critical of a trial judge and a prosecutor for waiting until the last minute to disclose 31,000 pieces of evidence to the defense, it found the ensuing postponement of the trial didn’t violate the defendant’s right to a speedy trial.

•  Despite former District Attorney Linda Stanley’s derogatory comments about a defendant to the media, the Court of Appeals concluded her behavior didn’t fall in the category of “outrageous” that would justify dismissing the criminal case.

Judicial discipline

•  On Friday, the Colorado Judicial Discipline Rule-Making Committee held its first public comment session for a set of interim judicial discipline rules that have been in effect for a couple of months now, but will eventually be replaced with final rules.

•  Recall that last year, voters approved constitutional Amendment H to reform the judicial discipline process. Among other things, the measure created a committee to draft procedural rules going forward.

•  There were only two people who submitted comments either in writing, in person or both. David Smith of Boulder said he was concerned about the ineffectiveness of the complaint process and the possibility of a judge retaliating against those who make complaints in cases that are still pending before that judge. Christopher Gregory, a former executive director and member of the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline, believed the rule-making committee was not addressing constitutionally mandated topics and he raised concerns about the committee’s bias.

•  The committee’s chair, Kristen L. Mix, said judicial disciplinary proceedings are largely governed now by the rules of civil procedure due to Amendment H’s repeal of the prior rules. Therefore, the committee’s initial interim rules were focused on those areas the civil rules don’t address.

•  Speaking of judicial discipline, Montezuma County Court Judge Ian J. MacLaren responded to allegations of misconduct currently pending against him and argued that disciplinary authorities were overreaching on a couple of mistaken choices he made as a new judge.

Miscellaneous proceedings

•  On Thursday, the Fourth Judicial District (El Paso and Teller counties) will hold a resource fair for those seeking employment, housing, recovery, mental health and other types of assistance. From the judicial branch: “The fair will take place inside the west tower of the El Paso County Courthouse at 270 S. Tejon St. in Colorado Springs on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The fair is free and open to residents in both El Paso and Teller counties.”