U.S. District Court

Year in review: Lawsuit could make "natural" baked cheddar Goldfish an endangered species

On November 6, Coloradans overwhelmingly approved Amendment 64, prompting Governor John Hickenlooper to note that the feds still consider pot illegal, so the state's residents shouldn't "break out the Cheetos or Goldfish" yet. But that same day, an Aspen resident took aim at Goldfish, filing a suit ... More >>

Goldfish, Amendment 64 mascot, could be an endangered species thanks to lawsuit

Late on November 6, after Coloradans had voted overwhelmingly to legalize recreational use of marijuana, Governor John Hickenlooper warned that given federal law, the state's residents shouldn't "break out the Cheetos or Goldfish too quickly." But that very day, as it turns out, another Coloradan ha ... More >>

James Holmes case: Leak fears inspire order denying access to evidence for victims' lawsuits

Update: Judge William Sylvester, the jurist overseeing the Aurora theater shooting case against accused murderer James Holmes, has denied a request for access to evidence from three victims suing Cinemark, owner of the Century 16, where twelve people died and 58 were injured during the July 20 attac ... More >>

Jo Scott, abortion zealot, permanently enjoined from using threat of force at clinic protests

Jo Scott.​Jo Scott is the truest of believers when it comes the fight against abortion rights -- so much so that she's repeatedly violated both state and federal laws designed to protect clinic visitors. But the level of harassment will presumably be modified now that a settlement with the Jus ... More >>

Aaron Jason Cope, United Express pilot, found guilty of flying drunk

​In March, United Express pilot Aaron Jason Cope was indicted for flying drunk. He's now been convicted of the charge, and court records on view below show how close he came to guiding a second plane while sozzled.

Denver Broncos sued by insurance company over claims by Floyd Little, other past players

Floyd Little.​When Broncos legend Floyd Little was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year, his relationship with his past team seemed blissful. But now, a lawsuit on view below reveals that Little and a slew of other past Broncos, including notables like Louie Wright and Randy G ... More >>

John Suthers calls ruling against health-care legislation a victory for federalism: Read it here

John Suthers.​Last March, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers joined "nearly a dozen" state AGs in challenging the constitutionality of just-passed health-care legislation. Now, he is celebrating a U.S. District Court ruling in Florida that concludes Congress "exceeded the bounds of its aut ... More >>

El Paso County Jail's postcard-only policy is returned to sender

​Prisoners in El Paso County got an early Christmas present yesterday, when county officials agreed to stop limiting outgoing inmate mail to just postcards. The ACLU had filed suit against that policy, which the El Paso County Jail adopted this summer, arguing that such restrictions for prison ... More >>

Manufactured Superstars exclusive residencies at XS and Tryst at Encore Wynn Las Vegas

​ December 2010 is not likely to be a month Brad Roulier is going to forget anytime soon. As you might recall, the month started off with Roulier and his nightclub being among those named in lawsuit filed by night club rival Regas Christou in U.S. District Court, and it's ending with word tha ... More >>

ICE seizes torrent websites in Wack-a-mole-esque operation

Kicking ass and seizing websites​When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) isn't prowling our borders for drug traffickers, it's prowling our digital borders and shutting down torrent domains that facilitate the piracy of copyrighted material. But seizing a domain name is a lot like ... More >>

Leslie Weise, Alex Young: Supreme Court won't hear No More Blood for Oil bumper-sticker case

​Back in 2005, Leslie Weise and Alex Young were prevented from attending a George W. Bush speech because their car sported a bumper sticker reading "No More Blood for Oil." The two, assisted by the ACLU, have been fighting this expulsion ever since -- but today, they reached the end of the lin ... More >>

ICE arrests focus on criminal aliens: 78 busts include man convicted of making terrorist threat

​These days, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, emphasizes that it's targeting criminal aliens, not otherwise law-abiding citizens who lack documentation authorizing their U.S. residency. And that's the theme of ICE's latest Colorado busts. Of the 78 people rounded up fr ... More >>

Do I have the right to ask my employees to only speak English at work?

Mi Cocina v Mi Cocina

​If you can't stand the heat, get out of la cocina. Back in 1995, Saul Sierra was a nineteen-year-old high-school drop-out and dishwasher when he opened Mi Cocina Grille at 4935 West 29th Avenue with the help of his mother. Three years later, he sold that location (it's now LaCocinata) and o ... More >>

Ronald Hoodenpyle gets jail time for bogus lien on IRS agent's home

​One gutsy Colorado Springs man is facing hard time after he filed a fraudulent lien against the home of an IRS agent in retaliation for a lien the IRS placed on his home. Ronald Roy Hoodenpyle, come on down!

FBI Denver's most wanted criminals: A photo gallery

Francisco Murillo, unwilling TV star.​Back in March, we shared a photo gallery of criminals with Colorado connections who landed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List during the roster's sixty-year history. But the FBI's Denver branch has a most wanted list of its own -- four murderers and one at ... More >>

Uptown Brothers Brewing Company to join the city's band of Brothers

Uptown Brothers Brewing Company is filling up the Red Room space.​The city's band of Brothers is about to get larger. As Jon Solomon reports in this week's Bar Back column, the former Red Room at 320 East Colfax Avenue will soon be home to Uptown Brothers Brewing Company, which is slated to op ... More >>

Steven Clay Romero pleads guilty to dragging Buddy the dog to death

Steven Clay Romero: Should he be sentenced to serve time in a kennel?​Some of those designated Westword's Shmuck of the Week earn this honor for kinda silly reasons -- like, for instance, the condom website that implied Coloradans have small dicks. Not so Steven Clay Romero, named after he wa ... More >>

Chris Bartkowicz's lawyer turned down after requesting delay in marijuana-grow case -- because he can't reach his client

Did you forget to charge your phone, Mr. Bartkowicz?​The case of Chris Bartkowicz, whose Highlands Ranch marijuana crop was seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration after he showed it off to 9News, instantly fired up the medical marijuana industry, with advocate Rob Corry going toe to toe ... More >>

Jay DeVaughn, librarian, likely to be charged with using mail to send white powder, bizarre threats in Spanish aimed at "dirty fascists"

Jay DeVaughn, in an image broadcast on 9News.​Jay DeVaughn, a librarian for the Community College of Aurora, has been accused of mailing a threatening letter -- a fairly straight-forward charge. But the criminal complaint filed against him in U.S. District Court hints at future counts based on ... More >>

Siamese Plate on the Go....directly to jail?

​Last year, the son of the owner of Arvada's Alamos Verdes was rated the Worst Boss of 2009, an honor he clinched with "simply repulsive" behavior with young female employees, according to a lawsuit filed by the EEOC in October. But Opas Sinprasong, owner of several Thai restaurants in Boulde ... More >>

Obama arrives in Denver as Colorado's Lauren Nettina sues him, feds for $950 trillion over mass conspiracy

"That Lauren Nettina is my kinda gal."​In 1964's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, U.S. Air Force General Jack D. Ripper set in motion the mutually assured destruction of the the Cold War superpowers due to his paranoid belief that the Soviet Union was engag ... More >>

Najibullah Zazi's father to face NYC court after Denver drops suspected terror case

NYC terror plot suspect Najibullah Zazi​Update, 1:08 p.m.: Mohammed Zazi has now been officially accused in Brooklyn of conspiring to obstruct justice in Colorado and New York, prompting a scheduled appearance in U.S. District Court at 2 p.m. today. Click here for the details and read a U.S. A ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: End of the line for the Ski Train

​My first view of Denver was from a train -- the Denver Zephyr, which a group of families had boarded in Chicago one afternoon in the mid-'60s. The kids had commandeered the dome car, where we slept on the floor under the seats, and as the sun rose, we got our first sight of the Rockies. My ... More >>

Peter Boyles attacked by DA's office chief deputy over Stephanie Villafuerte coverage

Peter Boyles has been leading the charge when it comes to the Stephanie Villafuerte story.​A new twist in coverage of Stephanie Villafuerte's nomination as U.S. Attorney. KHOW radio host Peter Boyles has devoted a great deal of airtime to this tale (I've joined him to speak about the subject ... More >>

Warring iPhone app fartlords settle their differences out of court with new, anti-fart app

An image from the ifartmobile.com website​ It's over -- and with nary a lawyer uttering this phrase: "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I give you Exhibit A, 'The Butt Socket!'" The feud between the creators of two different iPhone fart apps -- Loveland-based InfoMedia, Inc.'s iFart Mobile an ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: When peroxide is outlawed, only outlaws will have peroxide

​Before the Balloon Boy story blew up around the globe, Colorado's Najibullah Zazi was reportedly getting ready to blow up New York City. Our hometown terrorist is now being held without bail in New York on charges of conspiring to detonate explosives in the United States; his father has a Dec ... More >>

The Fray files suit against former manager

​From Bill Joel to Trent Reznor, it's a well-worn story line: a seemingly shrewd business manager attempts to hoodwink young musicians under his charge, taking advantage of their inexperience and naivety for his gain, and getting away with it before they really know any better or realize what's ha ... More >>

Judge Finesilver almost gave the Rocky Flats grand jury a big twentieth birthday present

Twenty years ago, the Rocky Flats grand jury started its search for justice. It hasn't ended yet.

A multimillion-dollar weed ring goes down -- and threatens to take a prominent restaurant owner with it

The bust was almost blown after an internal leak, and Dan Tang -- his Heaven Dragon Chinese food beloved local politicians -- was implicated.

Colorado Crimes: Welcome back, Ronald F. Thrasher

Betcha there's one of these babies in Mr. Thrasher's future. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Ronald F. Thrasher, formerly of Colorado Springs, has been on the run for the past fourteen years. That's not entirely true: He's probably rested a time or two since 1995, when he fled custody befo ... More >>

Get ready for the Gunnison sage grouse

The Waunita Lek near Gunnison, mating grounds for a large group of Gunnison sage grouse, is open for public viewings, and bird watchers will have good news to share with the rare species, which puts on an unusual and exotic springtime dance. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that i ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: The terror!

It's official: Hillary Clinton yesterday confirmed that the Obama administration is no longer fighting a "War on Terror" in its battle against al-Qaeda and militant Islam. So are those prisoners still incarcerated in Gitmo considered "terrorists"? Some of those prisoners could soon be living at S ... More >>

Only in 21st-century America: Warring fartlords head to court

An image from the ifartmobile.com website. There's a flatulence flap a-brewin' in Denver's U.S. District Court. Loveland-based software developer InfoMedia, Inc. -- creator of the Apple iPhone app iFart Mobile -- has asked a judge to rule that it can use the phrase "pull my finger" in its marketin ... More >>

Fuel guru Bill Orr loses bid for new trial

U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Babcock has at last issued a ruling denying a motion for acquittal or new trial filed by attorneys for William Orr, the alternative fuel entrepreneur whose battles with the EPA led to a guilty verdict on 23 counts of fraud and tax charges in Babcock's courtoom l ... More >>

Case Almost Closed

Cussler V. Anschutz: Raze the Titanic

The Waiting Game

Justice will be served in the 18th Judicial District -- eventually.

Mr. Stanley, We Presume

It's ready, fire, aim for the Libertarian candidate for Senate.

Pack Mentality

A media column about secondhand smoke stirs up a cloud of controversy.

Living in Exile

Federal prisons are filling up with people whose only crime is the possession of a gun.

Derailing Affirmative Action

Randy Pech says the government's disadvantaged business programs discriminated against his company. This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide if he's right.

Blinded by Science

Boulder throws another Barbie on the fire.

Target Practice

A class-action suit becomes a vehicle for racial justice.

Off Limits

May Day, May Day...

Off Limits

A snitch in time...

Off Limits

Skeletons in Their Closet

The feds had a bone to pick with this fossil-hunting family.

NO DOG HAS HIS DAY

"SUE THE CREEP" IN THE DOG-POISONING CASE? IN COLORADO, YOU'RE BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE.

GOING FOR BROKE

BILL WALL AND OTHER RICH GUYS PLED POVERTY IN FEDERAL COURT, AND THE PUBLIC'S CJA FUND PAID FOR IT.