U.S. Supreme Court

Colorado gun-control laws: Here's why 55 sheriffs think they're illegal

As we noted last week while covering the tragic death of Anastasia Adair, who accidentally killed herself with a new assault rifle, Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith and 54 colleagues have joined a complaint against newly passed Colorado gun-control laws, including a ban of all magazines that can ... More >>

Marijuana and gay marriage: New study explores their legal link

Same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization aren't natural bedfellows, as it were. But do the topics have more in common than seems obvious at first blush? Jonathan Rauch thinks so. In a new Brookings Institution study on view below in its entirety, he maintains that just as states have the right t ... More >>

Photos: Ten famous same-sex couples who've tied the knot

Yesterday, Governor John Hickenlooper signed civil unions into law; for our coverage, click here. In honor of this historic step, we've assembled photos and information about famous same-sex couples who've legally committed to each other, either through marriage ceremonies in areas where doing so is ... More >>

Erik Jensen, juvenile lifer, hangs onto hope "now more than ever"

Erik Jensen was seventeenwhen he got mixed up in the deadly domestic drama of Nate Ybanez, his best buddy. Ybanez is now serving a life sentence for the 1998 murder of his mother, Julie; Jensen is also serving life without parole for helping him -- although whether he was involved in the actual kill ... More >>

Amendment 64: Attorney General/marijuana critic John Suthers would defend it in court

In announcing the passage of Amendment 64, the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, during a newscast this morning, National Public Radio floated the possibility that the measure could wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court owing to pot's illegality at the federal level. And if the proposal wound up ... More >>

Twenty years later, there's still much we don't know about Rocky Flats

Ward Churchill's Colorado Supreme Court loss shows judges protect the powerful, lawyer says

In June, attorney David Lane appeared before the Colorado Supreme Court to argue that former CU-Boulder professor Ward Churchill should be reinstated, since a jury found his firing to be payback for a controversial 9/11 essay. But on the eve of the latest 9/11 anniversary, the court rejected this b ... More >>

Five biggest fakers in recent Colorado history

Former stolen valor arrestee Rick Strandlof has been many people in his life...two of whom were completely fabricated. But he has never been formally charged with profiting from his personalities -- nor is he the only person to have spun tall tales to change his life. Click through for stories from ... More >>

Will the real Rick Strandlof please stand up?

Also read: Stolen Valor was born in Colorado before dying with the Supreme Court

A tradition of keeping African-Americans voters from the polls

New laws in dozens of states could take out Barack Obama this fall.

Howard Simon, ACLU executive director, says Florida voting changes are racist and wrong

Editor's Note: The following is a guest-post by Chuck Strouse, editor-in-chief of Westword's sister paper, the Miami New Times. It's video side-bar to Strouse's piece that ran in Westword this week, "Welcome back, Jim Crow: A tradition of keeping African-Americans voters from the polls."As I show in ... More >>

Meth misdemeanor bill backer disputes John Suthers, state meth task force

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers is currently in Washington, D.C. for U.S. Supreme Court hearings on the Affordable Care Act. But in his absence, his office registered his objections to Senate Bill 12-163, which would, among other things, make possession of meth a misdemeanor rather than a cla ... More >>

Dick Cheney-Steve Howards case goes before the Supreme Court

Last December, we noted that the U.S. Supreme Court had agreed to hear an appeal by Steve Howards, who claimed that his free speech rights had been chilled by Secret Service agents when he approached then-Vice President Dick Cheney in Colorado circa 2006. Yesterday, the case reached the nation's hig ... More >>

Political ads: "Magic words" ruling that boosts 527s disappoints Colorado Ethics Watch

The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that political organizations dubbed 527s can spend unlimited funds for state candidates as long as the ads they're financing don't include so-called "magic words" such as "vote for" or "defeat." The decision is a disappointment for Colorado Ethics Watch, which b ... More >>

Occupy the Courts day, January 20, protests the idea of corporations as people

Occupy Denver: Dog leader Shelby would approve of these Constitutional amendments

If Occupy Wall Street is easy to criticize, it's also a movement with which many politicians can find common ground. In the past month, Democratic Representatives Jim McGovern and Ted Deutch have introduced drafts of amendments to the U.S. Constitution that reflect the ideals of the 99 percent with ... More >>

Charles Chaput: Denver Archbishop's attack on video-game ruling bugs Gamer Nation (VIDEO)

Charles Chaput.​Denver-based Archbishop Charles Chaput better watch out next time he plays Call of Duty online. Why? A lot of gamers are gunning for him in the wake of an editorial in which he criticized the U.S. Supreme Court for striking down a California law meant to protect minors from vi ... More >>

Marijuana advocate seeks $ for HB 1284 suit, chides lawyers who pledged to sue but didn't

Kathleen Chippi.​Kathleen Chippi is among the area's most active medical marijuana activists; see a video of her below going after both current Denver mayoral candidate Chris Romer and Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. Her latest mission: to raise funds for a lawsuit to stop official imp ... More >>

One Denver man's obscure but intriguing copyright case goes to the Supreme Court

Stravinsky, looking shifty-eyed.​It's been ten years since University of Denver professor Lawrence Golan filed his copyright suit in Colorado District Court, seeking the revocation of copyrights retroactively placed on works previously in the public domain, and now, after a lot of batting arou ... More >>

Colorado Ethics Watch case about political ads' "magic words" heads to state supreme court

Luis Toro.​Colorado Ethics Watch is on a roll. Back in September, the organization successfully argued that Clear the Bench Colorado, which wanted to throw the bums off the Colorado Supreme Court, should have registered as a political committee subject to donation limits rather than an issues ... More >>

Amendment 62: Pro-Personhood video says Colorado responsible for decline of America

From the video.​The website for Personhood USA, the organization pushing Amendment 62, which declares that the term "person" applies from one's biological starting point, doesn't come across as scary. At this writing, it sports the smiling face of Tim Tebow's mom, who supports the measure. But ... More >>

Prop 8 overruling in California feels like Romer v. Evans, says state Senator Pat Steadman

Pat Steadman.​Colorado state Senator Pat Steadman on Wednesday, commenting on the decision by a federal judge to overturn California's Proposition 8, said it's a lot like fourteen years ago. Fourteen years ago being May 20, 1996, when a U.S. Supreme Court ruling came down against Colorado's A ... More >>

Medical marijuana residency rules: Jessica Corry threatens litigation if they're not changed

Jessica Corry.​At this writing, an emergency hearing of the new Department of Revenue Medical Marijuana Licensing Authority is underway. And like MMJ activist Laura Kriho, attorney Jessica Corry feels the residency rules that will be up for discussion are extremely problematic -- a position sp ... More >>

On-stage actors can't smoke 'em if they got 'em, says Colorado Supreme Court

A Flickr photoMaybe it'd be best if you thespians didn't inhale.​Update, 4:09 p.m.: Attorney Bruce Jones, who represented Curious Theatre in this case, has just shared his comments on the opinion. Look below to read his views. Since 2006, the Colorado Clear Indoor Air Act has extended to acto ... More >>

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

Sonia Sotomayor could declare martial law on Kevin Orcutt's nunchaku

Denverites ready to celebrate Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court confirmation

Sonia Sotomayor, in an image from the White House's website.​Sonia Sotomayor, whose ruling about nunchucks is part of this week's Jared Jacang Maher feature article about Thornton cop Kevin Orcutt's police-oriented nunchaku design, hasn't been officially confirmed as a Supreme Court justice at ... More >>

Video: Westword writer takes a beating from police nunchaku. Don't tell Sonia Sotomayor!

The writer tries to stick it to the man. Click "Continue" to see the video.​Writing can be painful sometimes. This is particularly true while putting together a feature article about a little-known weapon used by police departments across the country called an Orcutt Police Nunchaku. Nearly thirty ... More >>

DA Carol Chambers: Avoiding the inevitable

Carol Chambers. As Westword's Alan Prendergast has reported in a series of blogs, Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour Jr. has ordered district attorney Carol Chambers to appoint a special prosecutor in the case of Julie Stene, who says she was sexually assaulted after a 2000 high school gr ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: Salazar needs to stay put

Timing is everything. Early on, as president-elect Barack Obama started filling his Cabinet, Ken Salazar's name kept surfacing -- but so did word that what the first-term senator and former Colorado Attorney General ultimately wanted was a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, and in the meantime, he wa ... More >>

Wake-Up Call: The bell tolls for Joe Nacchio

Yesterday, with the news that the San Francisco Chronicle may go down, leaving the free Examiner the only real daily in SF, Phil Anschutz once again looked like the smartest guy in the room.Today, he's also looking like the luckiest. Because before Anschutz bought the dying Examiner label and turned ... More >>

Inmates Waitin' Around to Die

Only one man is on death row, but seven others are waiting in the wings.

Judge Blackburn to Whistleblower: Shut Up Already

Whistle Stop

A Supreme Court decision may challenge workers' First Amendment rights.

Zoning

Do tape delays slow the 24-hour news cycle?

Bite Me

Rice Checks

Shrine On

You must remember this.

Follow That Story

Back at the Ranch

Murderers' Row

Until two years ago, Colorado juries weighed whether men deserved to die. Now judges decide their fate.

Take 23

The Denver Internation Film Festival opens this Thursday.

Seeing Red

Free Willy

As part of his never-ending fight against gays, car dealer Will Perkins gets himself "arrested" in Vail.

A Fight to the Death

Frank Rodriguez was sentenced to die twelve years ago. Are we there yet?

Off Limits

AGAINST THE WIND

CONTRARY TO POPULAR OPINION, GALE NORTON'S QUEST FOR THE SENATE WILL BE ANYTHING BUT A BREEZE.

JUDGMENT DAY

DENVER ATTORNEY DAVID L. SMITH HAS MADE LIFE A LIVING HELL FOR HIS ADVERSARIES. NOW HE'S FEELING THE HEAT HIMSELF.OUT OF ORDER DAVID L. SMITH SAYS COLORADO'S FEDERAL JUDGES ARE OUT TO GET HIM. HE'S RIGHT.

GENTLEMEN PREFER BONDS

FOR THE FIRMS THAT CRANK OUT DIA'S FINANCIAL PAPERWORK, THE PROFITS ARE SKY-HIGH -- AND THE WORK IS ALL LEGAL.

A GENDER'S SHOOTING STARS