Denver District Court

Judge grants restraining order; El Diablo and Sketch now open

Update, 7:05 p.m., January 11: Attorneys for Morreale Hotels LLC filed a motion today in Denver District Court, asking a judge for a temporary restraining order against the City of Denver that would allow El Diablo and Sketch to reopen. And after a hearing that started at 2 p.m. today, the judge agr ... More >>

Marijuana Amendment 64 backers sue over Blue Book text they say is slanted against them

Update:A Denver District Court judge will hear a lawsuit filed by Amendment 64 backers over Blue Book language. The hearing takes place at 1:30 p.m. today in Courtroom 215 of the Denver City-County Building. Continue for more suit details. Original post, 9:44 a.m. September 10: On Thursday, Amendme ... More >>

Scott Gessler adopts emergency rule to prevent ballots from being traced to voters

After a voter advocacy group offered proof that county clerks and other election officials could identify how specific people voted -- which would violate a citizen's basic right to a secret ballot -- Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced an "emergency rule" effective immediately that ... More >>

Scott Gessler rule changes rejected, watchdog groups pleased

Secretary of State Scott Gessler wants to make it easier for political groups to remain secretive about their spending by rewriting election rules and weakening disclosure laws. That's according to two watchdog groups, who praise a court ruling that blocks most of Gessler's efforts. Denver District ... More >>

Scott Gessler is rewriting rules, weakening disclosure laws, says Colorado Ethics Watch

Political groups in Colorado have more freedom to pour money into campaigns without disclosing their finances thanks to Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who has overstepped his bounds and rewritten election rules. At least that's the charge of Colorado Ethics Watch and Colorado Common Cause, which ... More >>

Marijuana: CBI says cross-checking MMJ registery against gun databases off the table

Last week, we told you about 2011 documents uncovered by activist Corey Donahue that outlined using the proposed medical marijuana patient registry database to cross-check federal firearm databases. The reason: MMJ patients are not legally allowed to own guns. Now, however, a state official says su ... More >>

Aurora wins another powerlifting trophy in redistricting fight

​The world's powerlifting championship is coming to Aurora next year. But this once scrawny suburb has been doing plenty of powerlifting of its own this year, muscling in on the turf of its big brother, Denver. Aurora's most recent trophy? Becoming part of just one congressional district, rath ... More >>

Denver police suit: David Lane on false Aaron Puller charge in racially motivated attacks case

Big pic below.​In November 2009, more than thirty African-American suspects were arrested in what the Denver Police Department described as racially motivated attacks on whites or Hispanics. Among those rounded up was Aaron Puller, who spent sixteen days in jail even though the evidence agains ... More >>

Medical marijuana lawsuit filed, claims regulations violate state constitution

Kathleen Chippi.​In May, cannabis advocate Kathleen Chippi asked for donations to help her file a lawsuit to challenge Colorado medical marijuana regulations, which went into effect today. And while she didn't collect quite as much as she hoped, the total was enough to make the suit viable. It ... More >>

Mile High Cab: Is next stop court after Public Utilities Commission kills application?

​The November feature story "Mean Streets" detailed how frustrated taxi drivers, faced with alleged discrimination and abuse have spent years asking the state's Public Utilities Commission to let them launch a company of their own, Mile High Cab. Last week that battle came to an end, with the ... More >>

Sean Mueller, John Elway Ponzi-schemer, says he's suicidal, gets 40-year sentence anyway

Large photo below.​Confessed Ponzi schemer Sean Mueller, whose victims include John Elway, first came to the police's attention in April, when he threatened to commit suicide by jumping off a parking garage. At his sentencing hearing yesterday. Mueller said he still thinks about taking his lif ... More >>

Ward Churchill defending Constitution, Court of Appeals trashing it, says David Lane of CU case

Ward Churchill.​Controversial University of Colorado at Boulder professor Ward Churchill has lost his latest bid to get his old job back, with the Colorado Court of Appeals upholding Denver District Court judge Larry Naves's earlier ruling; read it in its entirety below. The decision angers Ch ... More >>

Immigration and Customs Enforcement's latest roundup: 85 "criminal aliens" busted by ICE

​Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues to emphasize that it's focusing on arresting so-called criminal aliens -- and it's lassoed plenty in these parts of late. In September, ICE busted 78 people -- and of the 6,617 folks grabbed in the Denver area during fiscal 2010, 4,447 were said t ... More >>

Shawn Mitchell: Lawmaker admits inability to focus and personal "demons" affecting his work

Shawn Mitchell​In an unusual court filing, state senator and prominent GOP campaigner Shawn Mitchell states that his battle with anxiety and depression has made it difficult to get work done in his law practice and political life, leading to blown deadlines and missed hearings and campaign eve ... More >>

Nadine Montoya guilty of first-degree murder in Burger King hit-and-run

Nadine Montoya.​Nadine Montoya has been convicted of murdering a 49-year-old Aurora woman in a hit-and-run at a Burger King last May. Montoya, 27, will likely serve life in prison for crushing Lilian Verdonkschot with her Cadillac deVille and then fleeing the scene. The altercation started w ... More >>

Medical marijuana residency rules: Activist Laura Kriho asks, Where's the emergency?

Laura Kriho.​The first rule-making hearing of the Department of Revenue's Medical Marijuana Licensing Authority, slated for 10 a.m. this morning, has been deemed an emergency. But why it should be categorized as one puzzles the Cannabis Therapy Institute's Laura Kriho, who notes that this term ... More >>

ACLU settles suit over Denver police complaint records

​On the eve of going to court in its effort to protect internal investigations records of police officers from public scrutiny, the City of Denver has agreed to settle a lawsuit by forking over many of the documents sought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado.

Erik Osborn has a new address: Denver County Jail

​Eric Osborn, the disgraced developer behind One Lincoln Park, was back in Denver District Court this week for a second trial, again involving a charge of felony theft connected with one of his real estate projects. In December, a jury had convicted Osborn on two charges of felony theft, for ... More >>

Sandra Johnson accused of making New Year's Eve a little too happy for juvenile sex offenders -- by letting them drink in group home

The party's over for Sandra Johnson.​Plenty of adults will let teens below the legal drinking age sneak a sip on New Year's Eve, just as Sandra Johnson allegedly did. Problem is, Johnson was on the job -- as an overnight supervisor at Lampkin Group Center For Boys II, a privately run home for ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: Is Erik Osborn on the lam?

​Erik Osborn, the disgraced developer who has a December 7 trial date in Denver District Court, failed to show up for a hearing yesterday. The Denver District Attorney's office sent this brief note to some of the complainants in what has grown into two separate criminal cases against Erik Os ... More >>

Passing a medical-marijuana moratorium in Fort Collins not such an emergency after all

Fort Collins councilman David Roy didn't see medical marijuana as an emergency issue.​The word "emergency" has been bandied about frequently in relation to medical marijuana, as in the recent Board of Health meeting to change the definition of caregiver -- a decision that was subsequently toss ... More >>

Medical-marijuana businesses should police themselves, says advocate Rob Corry

Rob Corry thinks a trade association would do a better job of keeping dispensaries in line that the government.​Attorney Rob Corry has been on a roll of late, having won over Judge Larry Naves in a recent Denver District Court proceeding that voided a Board of Health ruling about the definitio ... More >>

Brian Vicente on fight to void Board of Health's medical-marijuana ruling

Medical-marijuana providers in the state of Colorado are in a state of confusion right now.​Yesterday afternoon, medical-marijuana advocates filed a petition in Denver District Court calling for a Tuesday ruling about the definition of "caregiver" by the state's Board of Health to be voided. S ... More >>

Will Monday be judgment day for Colorado's medical marijuana industry?

It's hard to understate the explosive rise of Colorado's medical marijuana industry. When Westword took an in-depth look at issue in the February 2009 article "Medical marijuana Has Become a Growth Industry in Colorado," just over 5,000 patients had been approved by the state to use marijuana -- w ... More >>

Landry's Downtown Aquarium target of Texas woman's personal-injury lawsuit

Landry's didn't provide a nice trip for one woman On May 2, 2008, Carolyn Sparks of Potter County, Texas, was visiting Landry's Downtown Aquarium in Denver with her daughter and husband. According to documents filed in Denver District Court, the trio was approached by a greeter who attached their w ... More >>

Friend or pho? Ha Noi case goes to trial

Denver's pho restaurants have seen some tough times lately. Last month, a car crashed into Pho 7, knocking the joint out of commission for a few days. Times were even tougher at Ha Noi Pho, our Best Taste of Hanoi in the Best of Denver 2007. Soon after we bestowed that honor, the pho spot at 1036 S ... More >>

Mary Starkey cleared of domestic abuse charges despite husband’s objections

Courtside

The jury is out on Denver's courts, while airline fees are a Mile High and rising.

The Butler School Owner Did It

Mary Starkey pleads guilty to assaulting a student.

Mary Starkey Is Arrested. Again.

Law and Order, Butler Style

Meltdown

Keep shoveling, Mayor Hickenlooper. Maybe things will clear up.

Lebanon Bombs on Myspace

The Meter's Running...

Freedom cabbies struggle for freedom.

Follow That Story

Nurses Denied

Off Limits

GOP of the heap

House Rules

Millionaire Kim Magness is dead, but his name will live on in court.

Follow That Story

The Client

That Disconnected Feeling

The phone sharks are circling Colorado, selling high-priced service to the unaware.

Off Limits

Foreclosure Encounters

By the time one of these investors gets his foot inside the door, your house is as good as gone.

An After-Death Experience

First Mordecai Mayhew was murdered. Then things got really ugly.

Home Sick

Is this crazy, or what? The only way Mildred Bennett can get her house back is to prove she's mentally disabled.

Mouthing Off

Sealed Fates

Letters

Off Limits

Off Limits

OPEN AND SHUT-UP CASE

THIS PROPERTY IS CONDEMNED