mike weissman
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Colorado Supreme Court to decide whether life without parole for non-triggerman is constitutional
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The Colorado Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will consider whether it is unconstitutional for a defendant to serve a sentence of life without parole for murder when he was not the one who caused the victim’s death. The case out of El Paso County implicates Colorado’s “felony murder” law, which, until recently, provided…
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Colorado advances bill to make it easier to sue ‘deceptive’ businesses
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The state House passed a bill on Tuesday that seeks to make it easier for Coloradans to pursue legal action against businesses that engage in deceitful or harmful practices. Currently, Coloradans trying to file a lawsuit against a business must prove that the business is not only deceptive toward them, but also has a pattern of…
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Campaign-ad disclosures would tighten under Colorado Senate bill
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A first step toward tightening some of Colorado’s laws around campaign communications, which stalled two years ago in the state Senate, is now out of the Senate and on its way to the House. Senate Bill 68 is sponsored by Democratic Sen. Rachel Zenzinger of Arvada and Republican Sen. Jack Tate of Centennial, and backed…
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Civil rights division bill could go by the wayside in session’s final days
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With just over 36 hours to go in the 2018 legislative session, one issue that has yet to be resolved is what happens to Colorado’s Division of Civil Rights and Colorado Civil Rights Commission. On April 30, the Senate passed its version of House Bill 1256, which drew immediate criticism from House Democrats and Gov.…
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The Great and Honorable Chili Commission holds first chili cook-off
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Sixteen steaming chili crock pots. Twelve judges. And the winners are …. On Wednesday night the Great and Honorable Chili Commission of the Colorado House held its first (and hopefully not last) chili cook-off – an opportunity to blow off steam and clear sinuses. The cook-off was a chance for lawmakers on both sides of…
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Church and state divide GOP, Democratic Colorado lawmakers
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Democrats and Republicans argued over two bills that mixed church and state last week at the Colorado Capitol. Senate Bill 201 would extend an three-hour exemption from childcare licensing requirement for churches to six hours during church activities. The bill is set for another recorded vote on the Senate floor next Thursday. The legislation is…
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Colorado House Republicans offer amendments to remake civil rights commission
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The House Judiciary Committee Tuesday voted 10-1 to draft a bill to extend the Colorado Division of Civil Rights and the civil rights commission for nine more years. House Republicans offered six amendments that attempted to make sweeping changes to the commission, without success. All of the Republican amendments failed on a 4-7 party-line vote. The…
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Guaranteed time off to vote gets initial OK thanks to liberal listening
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Who knew this was a law already? Coloradans are guaranteed by law two hours on Election Day to vote, almost enough time for a round of golf if you don’t have any friends. But that doesn’t really make sense anymore, since the legislature switched Colorado to mail-ballot elections in 2013; you stand in line only…
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Legislative panel wants more discretion for judges on sex offenders and habitual offenders
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The way justice is meted out in Colorado could change, giving judges more say in habitual offender and sex offender cases, through bills bound for the legislature. The Sentencing in the Criminal Justice System Interim Study Committee is proposing bills to allow judges more leeway in sentencing to make sure the punishment fits the crime. The…
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Lawmakers lament special session that yielded no result
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Colorado lawmakers, depending on party affiliation, thought the special session that ended Tuesday on a party-line vote in the Republican-controlled Senate Transportation Committee represented a missed opportunity to fix their mistake or a staunch defense of the state Constitution. Republicans opposed the fix and preferred voters decide the tax issue, or at least get specific legal guidance…
