Denver District Court

First Avenue Hotel gets another notice to vacate -- but El Diablo, Sketch open for now

Jesse Morreale was back at the Webb building this morning for yet another hearing involving his First Avenue Hotel, home to Sketch and El Diablo, winner of our Best New Bar in 2011 and a place that continues to pack in the crowds. The status of these spots, and the circa 1905 building that houses th ... More >>

Marijuana: Bill that would transfer MMJ patient fees for drug counseling gutted

A bill that would have used $10 million in medical marijuana patient registration fees for drug-treatment programs has been gutted for the second year in a row. The Representative Beth McCann-sponsored House Bill 1238, would have transferred $10 million over the next four years from the medical mari ... More >>

Marijuana: House Bill 1358 fails in Senate, THC DUI not dead yet?

Representative Beth McCann's proposal to shift millions in medical marijuana patient registry fees from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment to the Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division, failed to pass through the Senate today. But the controversy it started regarding the nearly $10 mi ... More >>

Yellow Cab takes a hit in arbitrator's decision on racism case

In the summer of 2010, 21 past and present Yellow Cab drivers -- all African immigrants -- filed a lawsuit in federal court, charging that the taxi company had favored American drivers and billed plaintiffs for questionable fees. The lawsuit was dismissed at the request of the filers after Yellow Ca ... More >>

Denver Drug Court builds new treatment track focused on veterans

The Denver Drug Court's treatment program is split into more than a handful of individualized tracks, but until earlier this month, none catered specifically to the needs of veterans. While they make up 5 to 8 percent of the 850 people enrolled, vets remain the least likely to receive help. They're ... More >>

Jury duty: The best excuse ever for getting excused

​And the verdict is in: Justice may occasionally be blind, but it is not deaf. Called up for jury duty this week at Denver District Court, I got a quick canned lesson -- via a video narrated by Ed Sardella -- of our civic duty, backed by a real lesson in humanity, as assorted citizens offered ... More >>

Teachers arrested for sex crimes: Should schools have to notify parents? Teachers union says no

Courtney Bowles.​ Should a school notify parents when a teacher is arrested -- a teacher such as Courtney Bowles, who was busted for getting naked with a student; Alex Tinsley, who police say asked a student if she wanted to join the Mile High Club; or Travis Masse, who police say had a sextin ... More >>

Douglas County voucher plan gives public funds to discriminatory religious schools, suit claims

Videos below.​Update below: A lawsuit filed this morning in Denver District Court challenges the legality of a Douglas County voucher program set to go into effect this fall partly on the grounds that it diverts public money to religious institutions. Yet plaintiffs include the Interfaith Alli ... More >>

Keenu Tiyme murder trial: Long, strange trip to justice in death of tattoo artist Kauri Tiyme

Keenu Tiyme​Barring a last-minute deal, attorneys will be picking a jury Monday morning in Denver District Court to decide the fate of Keenu Tiyme -- more than two-and-a-half years after the body piercer was arrested and charged with the gruesome death of his ex-wife, 39-year-old tattoo artist ... More >>

Jacob Joseph Medina: You can tell who sexually violent predator is by F-word tattoo over his eye

See closeup below.​In March, we told you about the search for and capture of Jacob Joseph Medina, sexually violent predator. Well, here we go again. Medina was supposed to register with the Denver Police Department on August 4, but didn't -- so a warrant has been issued for his arrest. And as ... More >>

Medical morning advisory meeting postponed after complaints it was closed to the public

Robert Chase.​Update below: It only took a day for the Department of Revenue to blink. The DOR had planned for this morning's first meeting of its new medical marijuana advisory working group to be closed to the public. But thanks to complaints from two notable MMJ advocates, Cannabis Therapy ... More >>

Erik Osborn, Denver developer, back in court today for a second trial

​Erik Osborn, already sentenced to ten years in community corrections earlier this month, will be back in Denver District Court today for a second trial. He's again charged with felony theft, for again allegedly using funds raised from one development project for another. Osborn's first convi ... More >>

Jacob Joseph Medina, sexually violent predator: You're not on the Top 50 Most Wanted list yet, but you're getting there

Jacob Joseph Medina has several distinguishing marks...​

Cannabis convention almost went up in smoke

​The first-ever Colorado Cannabis Convention almost ended before it began. That's because the original promoter, Raymond Springsteel and Boulder Talent Agency, which had booked the Colorado Convention Center for a pot convention this coming weekend, apparently disappeared after collecting -- a ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: Who's the thief? Erik Osborn's trial begins

​He missed a court date at the end of November -- but disgraced developer Erik Osborn showed up in plenty of time for his trial in Denver District Court, which got under way on Monday. The crux of this case is Osborn's involvement with One Lincoln Park, and how he allegedly diverted money fro ... More >>

A creche course in why the Nativity gets to stay on the steps of Denver's City Hall

Medical-marijuana patients to sue over dispensary closure

Photo by Robert FisherFour patients don't want Centennial to dispense with a dispensary.​Medical-marijuana patients and providers, as well as the attorneys who argue on their behalf, haven't always found the courts to be in their corner. Witness the controversial ruling in the Stacy Clendenin ... More >>

Erik Osborn is a free man...for now

​Although an arrest warrant was issued for disgraced developer Erik Osborn last Thursday, he's back on the right side of the law...for now. Turns out that Osborn may not have known he had to appear at the pre-trial hearing in Denver District Court on November 19 (it's tough to keep track of e ... More >>

Board of Health postpones next medical-marijuana meeting

Photo by Joel WarnerA photo from the last Board of Health meeting about medical marijuana earlier this month.​Medical-marijuana entrepreneurs and patients, among others, have been waiting with trepidation for the next Board of Health meeting, slated for December 16, at which its recent tweak o ... More >>

Attorney General John Suthers has to admit: Medical marijuana can be taxed

"When I said, 'Put that in your pipe and smoke it,' I didn't mean it like that!"​Attorney General John Suthers has been the high-ranking state official most likely to imply that the sky is falling in relation to medical marijuana. No wonder he cheered a Colorado Court of Appeals ruling in the ... More >>

Live blogging the Denver District Court pot hearing

A Flickr photo.​Last Thursday, several of the state's prominent pot lawyers filed a motion to void a recent Colorado Board of Health decision to strike from its rules what it means to be a marijuana caregiver -- a move that upended the burgeoning medical marijuana industry. Starting at 8:30 a. ... More >>

Brian Vicente on victory in hearing to void Board of Health's medical-marijuana ruling

Brian Vicente helped make the Board of Health back down, at least temporarily -- and he'll get paid for doing so.​As reported in our live blog about a Denver District Court hearing this morning, Judge Larry Naves ruled in favor of medical-marijuana advocates, who argued against a controversial ... More >>

Hearing for motion to void Board of Health's medical-marijuana decision set for tomorrow, November 10

Do medical-marijuana caregivers only have to supply medical marijuana? Or must they do something "more"?​On November 5, medical-marijuana advocates filed a motion to void a state Board of Health ruling striking its previous definition of caregiver. During a subsequent conversation with Westwor ... More >>

Marijuana lawyers file motion against Board of Health pot hearing

Joel WarnerThe controversial Board of Health hearing​During the emergency Colorado Board of Health hearing Tuesday that struck from state rules what, exactly, it means to be a marijuana caregiver and sent the state's medical marijuana community into turmoil, prominent pot lawyer Rob Corry told ... More >>

Chopsticks & Sushi closed for now...and maybe for good

Closed and out of luck​ The lights are on and the Open sign still hangs by the door at 1630 Welton Street, but that door is locked tight and the phone, which no one answered last week, is now disconnected. Looks like Chopsticks & Sushi is officially closed. But then, owner Yan De Yang is in j ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: The week's looking up -- way up

​The sky's the limit this week. Or is it? From a discussion of the view at Coors Field to consideration of a proposed DIA expansion to conventions including the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the fortieth annual international UFO Symposium, things are looking up -- way ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: Disorder in the court

The fireworks started early for the 4th. Early last week, we got a call from a reporter in Mankato, Minnesota, researching a story about Steve Horner, the anti-ladies night crusader who started his fight in that state (where he wound up in jail for harassing the head of Minnesota's civil rights co ... More >>

Read the judgment against developer Craig Nassi, recipient of a $1 million parking ticket

Craig Nassi. Last week, we told you about a Denver District Court finding against developer Craig Nassi, who was judged to be liable for more than $1 million in damages for fradulently misrepresenting the availability of parking spaces in the Beauvallon, on East Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Street, to ... More >>

Developer Craig Nassi gets $1 million parking ticket

Craig Nassi. This week, the Denver Post reports, a Denver District Court judge ruled that developer Craig Nassi is "personally liable for $1,046,250 in damages for fraudulent misrepresentation as he negotiated how many parking spaces would be available for Club Matrix, a high-end fitness gym and sp ... More >>

Craig Nassi changed Denver's Golden Triangle, but not everything is sparkling

From the week of December 4, 2008

From the week of November 27, 2008

Is Mary Starkey Persona Non Grata at the Denver Athletic Club?

LANS Corp. Faces the Music

The Denver Post Huddles Up

A Judge's Suicide: We, the Jury

Girl Interrupted

Let's Pretend

Best Non-Random Act of Kindness -- Judicial

Denver District Court Judges

Strange but True

Plutonium lasts forever, but the radioactive fallout from 2002 should be mercifully brief. Don your Rocky Flats moonsuits and jump in!

Off Limits

A dry idea

Justice Delayed

With the right defendant pulling the strings, Colorado's domestic-violence system can be tied into knots. A victim's story.

Educating Karen

A court reporter accuses Judge Jeffrey Bayless of on-the-job harassment.

NAMELESS BEHAVIOR

A REQUEST FOR PUBLIC RECORDS OF A NURSING-HOME INVESTIGATION TRIGGERS A CHAIN REDACTION.

OFF LIMITS

OFF LIMITS

HOMEWARD BOUND

CRIME MAY NOT PAY, BUT ELECTRONIC HOME DETENTION SURE DOES.

BEDSIDE MANNERS

UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OFFICIALS BOOTED A PROMINENT DENVER PHYSICIAN AFTER HE WAS ACCUSED OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT. THEN THEY TRIED TO COVER IT UP.

CANDIDATE BY DEFAULT

A SCHOOL-BOARD HOPEFUL DEFAULTED ON HIS STUDENT LOAN.

OFF THE RECORD

WHOSE DIVORCE RECORDS ARE SEALED? READ ALL ABOUT IT.