civil rights
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Trump administration investigates Cherry Creek School District for alleged racial discrimination
The U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into Cherry Creek School District on Monday over allegations of racial discrimination. The department said its Office for Civil Rights is reviewing claims that the district violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by sponsoring “a wide range of racially-discriminatory programming.” The complaints alleged the district…
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10th Circuit again dismisses ex-prison employee’s challenge to workplace DEI training
The Denver-based federal appeals court dismissed a second lawsuit on Monday brought by a former Colorado Department of Corrections employee who was offended by an equity training module and had alleged it created a hostile work environment. In 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y. Wang dismissed Joshua F. Young’s first lawsuit on the grounds that he…
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Denver Council narrowly approves deal with Axon
After weeks of delay, the Denver City Council narrowly approved a one-year $150,000 contract with Axon for 50 automated license plate-reading cameras and the necessary system hardware, replacing the city’s former vendor, Flock. The 7-6 vote came during Tuesday’s regular City Council meeting, where councilmembers weighed in on the risks of approving the contract before…
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Federal judge deems Jeffco’s appeal ‘frivolous’ in jail death case
A federal judge declared Jefferson County’s appeal of his evidentiary decision “frivolous” on Thursday, which enables him to continue handling the civil rights litigation even as an appellate court separately addresses the appeal. The order from U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews came three days after a hearing in which the plaintiffs’ attorney warned…
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‘Utterly no precedent’: Federal judge expresses concerns about Jeffco’s early appeal in jail death case
A federal judge shared his concerns on Monday about Jefferson County’s appeal of a routine procedural order in a constitutional rights case, which the plaintiffs argued could spawn appeal-related delays in countless lawsuits against the government. During a hearing, U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews noted he could find no decisions backing up the…
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Federal judge dismisses some claims in ex-RTD police chief’s discrimination lawsuit
A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed some of the claims brought by the former police chief of the Regional Transportation District in his employment discrimination lawsuit. Joel Fitzgerald Sr. led RTD’s police department after his August 2022 hiring until his termination in September 2024. Fitzgerald alleged his successes in transforming the department were overshadowed by…
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Federal judge declines to award attorney fees in ‘very weak’ voter intimidation case
A federal judge agreed last week that three civic organizations presented a “very weak” voter intimidation case to her last year, but it was not so baseless as to award the defendants attorney fees after they prevailed at trial. Last July, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney concluded the organizers of an “election integrity”…
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Appeals court rules Denver ordinance’s constitutionality has no bearing on lawfulness of arrest
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that regardless of whether a plaintiff could later show Denver’s ordinance was unconstitutional, arresting officers were acting with probable cause at the time and could not be held liable. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals pointed to a 1979 decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that indicated…
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Federal judge stands by ruling dismissing some of protesters’ claims against Denver
A federal judge last week refused to alter her ruling allowing only some claims to proceed to a jury trial against Denver for its alleged constitutional violations against protesters. Numerous judges this year have found Denver or its officers may be held liable for excessive force or First Amendment violations in a series of lawsuits.…