Colorado Politics

 Colorado Supreme Court ditches debt collection case

The Colorado Supreme Court declined to rule on Friday in a case questioning the procedure a creditor may use to obtain records from entities related to a debtor, in which the court initially expressed its interest. Joel Farkas is liable...

 Trump administration releases $40 million for Colorado water project

The Trump administration on Friday released $40 million, clearing the way for a water district and its partners to finish funding the purchase of some of the state’s most senior Colorado River water rights, Gov. Jared Polis announced. Federal funding...

 Tulsi Gabbard’s exit from the Trump administration fuels questions of who is next

Tulsi Gabbard’s exit as director of national intelligence from the Trump administration is sparking questions about who could be next. Gabbard announced Friday that she would step down, effective June 30, citing her husband’s diagnosis with a rare form of...

 Attorney general candidate Doshi puts ‘Hetal to the metal’ in Colorado Democrat’s 1st TV ad

Democratic attorney general candidate Hetal Doshi makes clear how to pronounce her first name in the former federal prosecutor’s first TV and digital ad, which launched statewide on Friday, just over two weeks before ballots start going out to Colorado...

 Colorado governor signs into law proposal to close gaps in court competency system

Gov. Jared Polis has signed a bill that supporters say would close gaps in Colorado’s criminal justice system for people whose charges are dismissed after they are found incompetent to stand trial. “This is a major step forward to keep...

 Colorado Supreme Court to evaluate test for alimony after remarriage

The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will evaluate whether divorcing spouses must explicitly agree that alimony payments from one partner to the other will continue after one person remarries, or whether a “clear implication” will suffice. The...

 Tulsi Gabbard resigns as director of national intelligence, citing her husband’s health

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tulsi Gabbard resigned as President Donald Trump’s director of national intelligence on Friday, saying she needed to step away as her husband battles cancer. She is the fourth Cabinet official to depart during Trump’s second term. In...

 Retired Colorado appeals judge speaks about civic advocacy, SCOTUS

Retired state Court of Appeals Judge Russell Carparelli offered mild critiques of the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this month as he spoke about the rule of law, and urged lawyers to “get in the game” by advocating in the political...

 As street camera use surges, Colorado legislators grapple with law enforcement, privacy implications

In Boulder, the Flock camera system helped authorities locate the car of the suspect in the firebombing that killed a woman and injured 29 others in June last year. The car had contained explosives, authorities said. In Columbine Valley, authorities...

 Marijuana cultivator files class-action lawsuit over state ‘distortions’ in excise tax collections

Plaintiff says state owes over $100 million in refunds The regulators of Colorado’s first-in-the-nation recreational marijuana market have allowed so many sham transactions in the industry to proliferate that honest cultivators and manufacturers shoulder an unfair excise tax burden, claims...

 Denver, Boulder prosecutors call congressional immigration probe ‘political theater’

Elected officials in Denver and Boulder are pushing back after the U.S. House Judiciary Committee opened an investigation into their immigration policies, as part of a broader probe targeting “sanctuary” jurisdictions nationwide. On May 20, U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio,...

 Appeals court reinstates murder case despite ex-DA Stanley’s conduct

Colorado’s second-highest court reinstated the murder and child abuse charges on Thursday against a Fremont County defendant, reasoning that the former district attorney’s misconduct did not warrant dismissal of the charges. A judge previously dismissed the criminal case against defendant...

 Legal filings escalate tensions in Colorado House District 6 Democratic primary

With the Colorado primary just weeks away, the Democratic race in Denver’s House District 6 has erupted into dueling complaints and legal challenges, underscoring the district’s long‑running divide between moderates and progressives. In Denver’s House District 6, the Democratic primary...

 Aggravated robbery charge reinstated after El Paso County judge misunderstood requirements

Colorado’s second-highest court reinstated an El Paso County defendant’s aggravated robbery charge on Thursday after concluding that a trial judge misunderstood the requirement for a person to be “then and there so armed.” Allegedly, Mark Alan Ambrose walked out of...

 Colorado Gov. Polis signs order to block spending on soda, alcohol for official state functions

Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order on Thursday aimed at increasing access to healthy food and promoting outdoor recreation as a form of exercise. “Colorado is one of the healthiest states in the nation, and this is an opportunity...

 ‘More free time’: Gov. Polis turns Colorado Democratic Party censure into scheduling perk

Facing public rebuke from his own party, Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday brushed off the Colorado Democratic Party’s censure and defended his decision to cut in half Tina Peters’ prison term, saying the case had long troubled him and that...

 Colorado Democrats formally rebuke Gov. Jared Polis for shortening Tina Peters’ prison sentence

The Colorado Democratic Party on Wednesday formally censured Democratic Gov. Jared Polis for reducing the prison sentence of Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk convicted of election-related felonies, and barred the term-limited governor from speaking or appearing as an...

 Facing intense internal pressure, DNC releases post-election autopsy

NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin released a critical study of the party’s performance in the 2024 campaign on Thursday, bowing to intense internal pressure from frustrated Democratic operatives who had publicly demanded the release of...

 Colorado legislature overrules 2 state Supreme Court decisions about child neglect, visitation

Colorado lawmakers have overruled a recent pair of state Supreme Court decisions, adopting the dissenting justices’ points of view in cases involving grandparent visitation rights and the ability of children to oppose a county’s decision to withdraw a neglect case....

 Aurora eyes raising taxes to pay for infrastructure projects

Aurora voters could decide this November whether to raise sales taxes for the first time since 1993 to help pay for infrastructure, transportation and public safety improvements. The city’s Infrastructure Task Force recommended that the City Council approve a bond...

 Annual count finds fewer homeless people in Denver

Overall homelessness in Denver went down by 12.5% this year, the first year-to-year reduction in nine years, according to an annual count. Street homelessness is also at a nine-year low, decreasing by 64% since 2023, when Denver Mayor Mike Johnston...

 Denver teacher fired after ‘same-gender’ kissing skits in French class

An administrative law judge has recommended the dismissal of a teacher at Northeast Early College — a high school in the Denver Public Schools district — after finding classroom activities and personal disclosures to students amounted to “incompetence and neglect...

 Colorado federal judge speaks about judicial innovation, leadership

U.S. Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell spoke on a virtual panel of judges last week about innovation and leadership in the judiciary, touching on her experiences before and during her time on the bench. “When I was at the (attorney...

 Congressional panel probes Denver, Boulder over ICE cooperation limits

A congressional panel is reviewing Denver and Boulder’s policies, alleging that these cities, along with other “sanctuary” jurisdictions, are declining to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, the body announced Wednesday. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who chairs the U.S. House Judiciary...

 Appeals court revives disability discrimination claim against Colorado attorney regulators

Colorado’s second-highest court reinstated a lawyer’s discrimination claim earlier this month against Colorado’s attorney regulation office, based upon its alleged failure to accommodate his disability during the bar exam. Michael Ozborn, a University of Denver law graduate, sued the Office...

 Tom Homan insists ICE is not narrowing deportation agenda

EXCLUSIVE — Arrests and deportations of illegal immigrants have soared to all-time highs in President Donald Trump’s second term, but the administration has faced significant hurdles maintaining its momentum in recent months, according to White House border czar Tom Homan, prompting...

 10th Circuit upholds child sex convictions of Fort Carson resident over evidence objections

The Denver-based federal appeals court upheld the convictions of a Fort Carson resident on Tuesday, concluding that the prosecution did not violate the rules governing the disclosure of evidence. Mitchel Crow stood trial on seven counts of sexual abuse of...

 Business leaders see ‘cracks’ in Colorado, while governor insists state is ‘competitive’

How does Colorado get back to the climate in the early 2000s, when there was collaboration between state government, companies and colleges and universities? That was the question posed to Gov. Jared Polis and a panel convened Tuesday by the...

 Denver stops new data centers for 12 months

Denver just slammed on the brakes on new data centers Monday after members of the Denver City Council voted unanimously to impose a one-year moratorium on permits and site development plan applications for data centers as the proposed primary use. Close to...

 Air Force Academy graduation will feature Vice President JD Vance

The Air Force Academy announced Tuesday that Vice President JD Vance will serve as the speaker for the academy’s commencement ceremony May 28 at Falcon Stadium. Vance was sworn into office on Jan. 20, 2025. He previously served as a...