durango
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Divided 10th Circuit takes no issue with surprise police encounter with suspect
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Police officers who unexpectedly encountered a Durango-area man while they were preparing to search his nearby home did not commit a constitutional violation by seizing his phone during the ensuing traffic stop, the Denver-based federal appeals court ruled last week. Kalub Sean Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography and received a…
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Q&A with Courageous Colorado’s Landon Mascareñaz | Nonprofit aims to bring bravery back to politics
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After co-authoring The Open System, a 2023 book about redesigning public education to encourage civic engagement and strengthen participation in self-governing, Dr. Landon Mascareñaz set his sights on invigorating democracy at the local and state level via a nonprofit he founded this summer called Courageous Colorado. Named after the quality community leaders said was most…
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Q&A with Judge Gordon Gallagher | Colorado’s first federal district judge stationed on Western Slope
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Gordon P. Gallagher first joined Colorado’s federal trial court in 2012 as a part-time magistrate judge stationed in Grand Junction. In March 2023, the U.S. Senate confirmed him to a lifetime appointment as a district judge — one of five Biden administration appointees to the state’s U.S. District Court. Gallagher became the first district judge in…
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Appeals court clarifies ‘work product’ exemption to Colorado open records law
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Colorado’s second-highest court last month clarified a draft report that is not subject to any meaningful decision-making by elected officials is a disclosable document under the state’s open records law. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals agreed Durango was required to disclose a draft of its 2021 financial report under the Colorado Open…
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Appeals court clarifies ‘work product’ exemption to Colorado open records law
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Colorado’s second-highest court last month clarified a draft report that is not subject to any meaningful decision-making by elected officials is a disclosable document under the state’s open records law. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals agreed Durango was required to disclose a draft of its 2021 financial report under the Colorado Open…
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Appeals court clarifies ‘work product’ exemption to Colorado open records law
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Colorado’s second-highest court last month clarified a draft report that is not subject to any meaningful decision-making by elected officials is a disclosable document under the state’s open records law. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals agreed Durango was required to disclose a draft of its 2021 financial report under the Colorado Open…
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Durango officials immune from suit despite questions about probable cause, 10th Circuit rules
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The federal appeals court based in Denver acknowledged on Monday that there were “valid questions” about whether Durango police had probable cause to arrest a man, but ultimately awarded immunity to the officers and prosecutors for their unsuccessful criminal case against the suspect. Christopher Joe Clark alleged law enforcement should not have arrested him for…
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Colorado appeals court says in-person doctor exam not required for workers’ comp cases
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Physicians are allowed to find an injured worker suffers from no permanent disability without having to examine them in person, the state’s second-highest court ruled last month. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals emphasized a doctor’s conclusion about a patient’s impairment, based solely on paperwork, is “not the preferred way” to do things.…
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‘I was different and they didn’t want that’: Judge’s approach collides with voters’ expectations of justice | COVER STORY
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In January 2021, La Plata County Court Judge Anne K. Woods presided over an emotionally-fraught sentencing hearing: Preston Edward Pitcher, a church leader, pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor offenses after sexually abusing young adults whom he groomed as children. Despite the option to impose jail time, Woods opted against incarcerating Pitcher for 60 days and…
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La Plata County judge resigns after losing retention election
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La Plata County Court Judge Anne Kathryn Woods resigned her seat on Wednesday after being the only state judge voters chose not to retain in this year’s general election based on the unofficial results. In her resignation email to Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright, Woods alluded to her own missteps, as well as inaccurate perceptions…