Tag: first amendment
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Appeals court finds judge did not punish man for religious beliefs when giving ex-wife parenting authority
Colorado’s second-highest court last month rejected a man’s claim that a Larimer County judge unconstitutionally penalized him for expressing religious beliefs critical of homosexuality when she awarded parental decision-making to his ex-wife. District Court Judge Laurie K. Dean gave Brandon Ribble’s ex-wife broad decision-making responsibility for the couple’s children as a result of their divorce.…
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Federal judge presses Denver on police response to 2020 protests
A federal judge on Thursday heard arguments in the City and County of Denver’s attempt to end a set of legal claims against it stemming from the police response to 2020 protests, which injured eight participants and allegedly violated their constitutional rights. Multiple cases remain pending against Denver or individual police officers four years after…
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Federal judge grants narrow injunction against Colorado pre-K program but rejects Catholic parishes’ LGBTQ challenge
A federal judge on Tuesday concluded Colorado’s universal pre-kindergarten program impermissibly infringes on the rights of two Catholic parishes with its treatment of students’ religious affiliation, while at the same time rejecting large swaths of their challenge to a related LGBTQ non-discrimination requirement. Two Catholic institutions, St. Mary Catholic Parish in Littleton and St. Bernadette Catholic…
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Appeals court rules Colorado free speech law applies in eviction cases, urges legislature to reconsider
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled for the first time last week that a 2019 law intended to protect First Amendment activity from litigation does apply to eviction proceedings and to claims across the board, not simply to defamation lawsuits. However, in an unusual move, a three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals explicitly called on lawmakers…
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Colorado Supreme Court takes up cases on Title IX investigations, COVID campus closure
The Colorado Supreme Court recently agreed to hear multiple cases implicating a witness’ immunity for making defamatory statements in a school sex assault investigation, whether a university can be sued for closing its campus early in the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether a man should receive a new trial for his numerous securities fraud convictions. At…
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Federal judge finds constitutional challenge to Colorado’s charitable solicitation law not viable
A company that solicits charitable donations for nonprofits cannot continue its constitutional challenge to Colorado’s regulations because it no longer faces a prohibition on operating in the state, a federal judge ruled last week. InfoCision Management Corporation, located in Akron, Ohio, alleged a portion of Colorado’s Charitable Solicitations Act unconstitutionally infringed upon its free speech rights…
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‘Hostile and discriminatory’: 10th Circuit slams CU for treatment of religious vaccine exemptions
In a fiery opinion on Tuesday, the federal appeals court based in Denver tore into a pair of COVID-19 vaccination policies the University of Colorado imposed on medical staff in late 2021, concluding they discriminated against certain religions and affected plaintiffs were consequently entitled to exemptions. By 2-1, the all-Republican panel of the U.S. Court…
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10th Circuit upholds injunction removing access restrictions on DPS critic
The federal appeals court based in Colorado agreed on Tuesday that Denver Public Schools could not restrict a man’s access to district property or bar him from his volunteer football coaching position, despite the district’s concern about harassment and bullying directed toward employees. DPS sent a letter to Brandon Pryor in October 2022 outlining his…
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Ex-Dominion exec prevails in another appeal over unproven election-rigging accusations
For the second time in under a month, a former executive for Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems has moved forward in his efforts to hold liable those who amplified unproven allegations that he, personally, rigged the 2020 presidential election against Donald Trump. Last year, a federal trial judge agreed Eric Coomer, the director of product strategy and…
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Federal judge green-lights jury trial against Denver, officers for response during 2020 protests
A federal judge agreed last month that a jury will decide whether two Denver officers and the city itself should be liable for excessive force, First Amendment violations and other infringements on a man’s constitutional rights during the 2020 protests. After a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd in May 2020, international demonstrations erupted, including in…