retaliation
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Federal judge allows fired Weld County principal’s Christian discrimination claim to proceed
A former Weld County high school principal will be able to pursue his claim of religious-based retaliation against the superintendent who sought to fire him, a federal judge ruled last month. Brian Littlefield was a longtime school administrator who became the leader of Roosevelt High School in 2019. He alleged his 2021 termination was the…
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2 defendants’ sentences upheld for threatening judges
Colorado’s second-highest court recently upheld the convictions and sentences of two men who made threats against judges, rejecting allegations made on appeal about bias and procedural improprieties. In the first case out of Denver, then-District Court Judge Morris B. Hoffman sentenced Eric Brandt, who has a history of agitating against law enforcement, to 12 years in…
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Ex-Adams County judge resigned after retaliation campaign against employee, improper relationship
Robert W. Kiesnowski Jr. resigned from his position as an Adams County district judge this summer following his admission to a campaign of retaliation against an employee and a failure to comply with the judiciary’s rules on personal relationships, according to documents filed with the Colorado Supreme Court. Kiesnowski joined the 17th Judicial District bench…
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Federal judge agrees colleague need not recuse in case due to prior employment
A federal judge agreed last week that her colleague, a new appointee to Colorado’s U.S. District Court after a career representing the federal government, does not need to recuse from a recent civil case brought against the government. U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Prose joined the federal trial court earlier this year, appointed by the life-tenured…
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Douglas County sheriff’s alleged political firing of subordinate to be heard by jury, judge rules
A jury will decide whether the former Douglas County sheriff fired his subordinate for making a political Facebook post in the middle of the 2020 election, and whether the sheriff’s office has raised a valid defense to terminating her without the proper process. Holly Kluth, a 32-year employee of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, sued…
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Federal judge dismisses religious discrimination lawsuit of ex-Douglas County schools administrator
A former Douglas County high school administrator did not credibly allege he was discriminated or retaliated against because of his status as a Christian, a federal judge decided this week in dismissing the lawsuit. Corey McNellis worked at Ponderosa High School for 14 years and was the athletic director and assistant principal at the time…
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Aurora man receives probation for threatening to kill Gov. Jared Polis
An Aurora man who threatened to shoot Gov. Jared Polis pleaded guilty to retaliation charges on Monday and was sentenced to four years of probation. Jeromie Rose, 42, admitted to leaving two voicemails on Polis’ front desk line on June 20, threatening the governor’s life. In the voicemails, Rose said, “I’m gonna f—— fire a whole…
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Federal judge allows retaliation lawsuit to proceed against prison dentist
A federal judge has declined to dismiss an incarcerated man’s claim that a prison dentist retaliated against him for filing a complaint about his allegedly substandard dental care – to the point of making threats and acting aggressively toward him during an appointment. LaRon Antonio Donald, who resides at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility, sued multiple…
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Federal judge dismisses allegations of ‘years-long campaign’ of retaliation by prison employees
A federal judge has dismissed an incarcerated man’s lengthy set of assault allegations against state prison officials because he did not properly file three grievances for each incident first. Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, people who are incarcerated must “exhaust” their administrative remedies before bringing a civil rights lawsuit. In Colorado’s Department of Corrections, detainees…
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Colorado Supreme Court to answer whether discrimination, retaliation are eviction defenses
Under Colorado law, discrimination and retaliation by landlords are illegal. But are they something that can prevent a landlord from carrying out an eviction? On Monday, the state Supreme Court agreed to review a case out of Adams County in which a tenant claims her landlord moved to evict her after she rejected his sexual…