free speech
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Federal judge rejects challenge to Colorado ‘buffer zone’ law for abortion clinics
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A federal judge on Tuesday rejected a Denver woman’s challenge to Colorado’s 32-year-old law restricting proselytizing at abortion clinics, with the ultimate goal of the litigation being to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule its precedent on the subject. In 1993, Colorado legislators enacted a law generally prohibiting people from approaching others, within eight feet,…
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Colorado justices confirm SCOTUS stalking ruling limited to speech
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The Colorado Supreme Court confirmed on Monday that a 2023 ruling from the nation’s highest court imposing a higher burden on stalking prosecutions does not apply to cases where the alleged stalker’s conduct, not the words he uses, is the problem. The U.S. Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Counterman v. Colorado two years ago, in…
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Federal judge IDs flaw with Tina Peters’ request for release
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A federal judge on Monday warned former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters that her request to be released while she appeals her 2024 criminal convictions appears to be brought improperly and may be subject to dismissal. Jurors convicted Peters for her role in a security breach of her office’s voting equipment. She is currently serving a…
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Federal judge says he will not recuse from trans athlete case over courtroom pronoun policy
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U.S. District Court Judge S. Kato Crews on Monday denied a request that he recuse himself from a lawsuit about transgender athletes’ participation, rejecting the argument that his courtroom protocols on the use of pronouns meant he had “prejudged” the case. Last week, attorneys challenging a policy of the Colorado Springs-based Mountain West Conference alleged they…
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2 appeals judges warn of diverging interpretations to Colorado’s free speech protection law
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Two members of Colorado’s second-highest court warned in separate cases on Thursday that they believe judges are drifting away from the legislature’s directive for evaluating whether defamation lawsuits should be dismissed under a 2019 law designed to protect free speech. More than two years ago, Judges Ted C. Tow III and Michael H. Berger were…
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Federal judge eases path for plaintiffs to hold Denver liable for 2020 protest response
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A federal judge last month reversed course on her previous decision and ruled a group of one dozen plaintiffs who were injured during the police response to Denver protests can hold the city liable for failing to train its officers on the use of chemical weapons and projectiles. Last March, U.S. District Court Judge Nina Y.…
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Federal judge allows inmate to challenge prison’s confiscation of allegedly dangerous book
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A federal judge has permitted an incarcerated man to challenge prison officials’ decision to withhold a book that allegedly depicted or encouraged disruption. Rodney C. Hamrick is incarcerated at the Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, also known as “supermax” or “ADX.” In 2022, the warden rejected two books Hamrick received, both of which were written…
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Federal judge green-lights trial over arrest of protester at Denver mayor’s 2019 inauguration
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A federal judge indicated on Monday that it is a jury’s role to decide whether Denver police officers violated a woman’s rights by arresting her for disrupting the inauguration ceremony of then-Mayor Michael Hancock in 2019. U.S. District Court Senior Judge William J. Martínez found the officers had not performed a clearly unconstitutional seizure of Caryn…