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State Rep. Leslie Herod granted protective order after judge finds ‘sexual assault’ claims are not credible
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coloradopolitics.com, State

State Rep. Leslie Herod granted protective order after judge finds ‘sexual assault’ claims are not credible

By Marianne Goodland | Colorado Politics After a year of social media accusations that she was a "sexual predator," Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, has been granted a restraining order against the spokesperson for state Treasurer Dave Young with a judge ruling the evidence does not support the claims. The restraining order is against Sheena Kadi, the public information officer and communications director for Young. Kadi is a longtime Democratic political operative and the the vice chair of public relations and marketing for the Colorado Democratic Party. Kadi did not respond to a request for comment. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS
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Federal Court Rules Firearm Restrictions on Defendants Awaiting Trial Are Constitutional
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National, The Epoch Times

Federal Court Rules Firearm Restrictions on Defendants Awaiting Trial Are Constitutional

By By Patricia Tolson | Epoch Times A federal court has ruled it is constitutional to block a defendant’s 2nd Amendment rights while they are awaiting trial. On March 18, the three-judge panel in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that the restriction on the rights of Jesus Perez-Garcia and John Thomas Fencl to bear firearms is constitutional because it is consistent with historic legal precedent. While these are two separate cases, with Judge Gonzalo Paul Curiel ruling on Mr. Perez-Garcia’s case on Dec. 2, 2022, and Judge Janis Lynn Sammartino ruling on Mr. Fencl’s case on Dec. 7, 2022, both men brought their legal challenge before the federal appeals court on Jan. 26, 2023. READ THE FULL STORY AT EPOCH TIMES
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Plea deal gives former producer at Sounds True lenient sentence for possession of 6,000 images of sexual child abuse
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Rocky Mountain Voice

Plea deal gives former producer at Sounds True lenient sentence for possession of 6,000 images of sexual child abuse

By Heidi Ganahl | Rocky Mountain Voice Mitchell Clute, 57, a former senior producer and editor at Sounds True, has agreed to a plea deal, according to various media reports, on charges of possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material. He was arrested in July, following an investigation by the Boulder County Digital Forensics Lab, which discovered child sexual abuse material downloaded from an IP address associated with Clute's residence on Dewey Avenue. Initially facing 11 felony charges, including sexual exploitation of a child, Clute accepted a very lenient plea deal last week, pleading guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, both class 4 felonies. The remaining charges were dismissed as part of the agreement. The sentencing, on March 8, saw Clute re...
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Supreme Court extends freeze on Texas illegal immigration law
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National, The Epoch Times

Supreme Court extends freeze on Texas illegal immigration law

By Tom Ozimek | The Epoch Times The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order on March 12 that extends for at least another week its temporary pause on enforcement of Texas’ immigration law, which would have allowed state police to arrest people suspected of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. Justice Samuel Alito, who oversees the federal circuit handling the case, issued an administrative stay on Tuesday, postponing the implementation of Texas Senate Bill 4 until March 18. The move follows a similar March 4 decision that imposed a temporary freeze on SB4, which was signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in December 2023 and was set to go into effect on March 5. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE EPOCH TIMES
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Colorado Supreme Court committee votes to explore role of AI in practice of law
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gazette.com, State

Colorado Supreme Court committee votes to explore role of AI in practice of law

By Michael Karlik | Colorado Politics An advisory committee to the Colorado Supreme Court recently created a subcommittee that will evaluate existing rules barring the unauthorized practice of law to determine if changes are necessary to accommodate emerging artificial intelligence-powered legal tools. The March 1 vote of the Advisory Committee on the Practice of Law came at the request of the Colorado Access to Justice Commission. The commission advocates for expanded legal aid and better tools for self-represented litigants in civil cases. The commission's director, Elisa Overall, noted AI tools can foster access to justice and efficiency in the legal profession. "In collaboration with Colorado Legal Services, the ATJC is in the process of developing a robust online legal inform...
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Pueblo’s new Fuel & Iron food hall accused in lawsuit of shorting its builders as construction lagged, costs soared
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Southern Colorado, The Colorado Sun

Pueblo’s new Fuel & Iron food hall accused in lawsuit of shorting its builders as construction lagged, costs soared

By Jennifer Brown and Tamara Chuang | Colorado Sun One of the coolest endeavors to open in Pueblo in recent years is tangled up in a court battle after being accused of not paying its builders for the full cost of the project.  Fuel & Iron, the historic hardware store transformed into affordable housing and a trendy food hall where visitors can find cocktails and beer, pizza and fried chicken, opened in April. It was sued in May, its contractor claiming it was shorted more than $2.4 million.  The dispute is a black eye on a project heralded as the perfect mix of private investment and public dollars, a $16 million plan cobbled together from 17 sources, including grants and local, state and federal government investments. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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Appeals court rules more than 100 J6 sentences were improperly lengthened
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National, Politico

Appeals court rules more than 100 J6 sentences were improperly lengthened

By KYLE CHENEY | Politico A federal appeals court panel ruled Friday that Jan. 6 defendants who obstructed Congress’ work had their sentences improperly lengthened by judges who determined that they had interfered with the “administration of justice.” The decision could force district court judges in Washington, D.C. to recalculate, and perhaps reduce, the sentences of more than 100 Jan. 6 rioters convicted of felony obstruction for their roles in the attack on the Capitol that threatened the transfer of power three years ago. Federal sentencing guidelines encourage judges to apply the “administration of justice” enhancement to defendants who disrupt judicial proceedings like grand jury investigations or court hearings. The enhancement can increase recommended sentences ...
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Did Denver Democrat use position to ensure payday from same law he sponsored?
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completecolorado.com, State

Did Denver Democrat use position to ensure payday from same law he sponsored?

By Sherrie Peif | Complete Colorado The timing between the filing of a class action lawsuit against a Denver rental property owner and a new law allowing for greater leeway over who can file such lawsuits is being scrutinized. At the center of the controversy is whether one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, State Rep. Steven Woodrow, used his power and position as a state legislator to ensure himself, along with other trial lawyers, big payouts for successful suits that otherwise would likely not advance. A Denver judge said as much in his ruling to allow the class action to move forward. Because “the claims are small, tenants likely wouldn’t have the motivation to take on the expense of individual lawsuits, so class action is the best path forward,” said Denver District Court ...
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Colorado’s public defenders say they need 200 more attorneys to provide effective counsel
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State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado’s public defenders say they need 200 more attorneys to provide effective counsel

By Brian Eason | Colorado Sun Colorado needs three times the number of public defenders it employs today to meet new workload standards for criminal defense, according to a national study backed by the American Bar Association. For next budget year, which starts July 1, Colorado’s Office of the State Public Defender is asking for 70 more attorneys and 58 new support staff, including paralegals and investigators, at a total cost of $14.7 million. That’s still far less than 230 new attorneys the office says it needs — let alone the 700-plus hires it would take to triple current staffing levels to meet the study’s recommendations. But even the partial request was enough to shock members of Colorado’s Joint Budget Committee. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN...
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Jury finds ex-NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre liable for corruption, orders repayment of $4.3M to gun rights group
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Fox News, National

Jury finds ex-NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre liable for corruption, orders repayment of $4.3M to gun rights group

By Emma Colton | Fox News A Manhattan jury in the civil corruption case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James against the National Rifle Association (NRA) and its former CEO found the organization liable for financial mismanagement. The jury determined that Wayne LaPierre's violations of his duties cost the NRA $5,400,000, but he had already paid roughly $1 million back to the organization. LaPierre was ordered to repay the group $4,351,231. The New York jury said that the NRA's CEO for three decades misspent millions of dollars of the group’s money on luxury personal purchases.
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