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Public Access to Colorado Court Records
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Sidebar: Family Court Censorship &
Secrecy
According to one
exposé on censorship
by Stephen Baskerville, Ph.D., "Many people
have trouble believing harrowing tales of
human rights abuses now taking place in
American family courts and wonder why, if
they are true, we do not hear more about it.
Perhaps because in many jurisdictions it is
a crime to criticize family court judges or
otherwise discuss family law cases publicly.
In other words, censorship works."
Baskerville alleges the following:
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In March of
2006, Kevin Thompson received an
order prohibiting distribution of
his book,
Exposing the
Corruption in the Massachusetts
Family Courts.
>> Fox News
coverage >>
The judge also impounded the records
of Thompson's custody case,
reinforcing the secrecy in which
family courts (including those in
Colorado) often operate.
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Phillip Dean
was jailed for placing signs and
placards in his yard, which
criticized an Alabama divorce judge
and stated, "Our Courts are a
Joke." The incensed judge's order
stated, in pertinent part, ". . .
the Court finding that the signs are
of such a disparaging nature as to
constitute direct contempt of court,
it is ORDERED that the Sheriff of
Jackson County arrest the defendant
. . . Following his arrest, the
defendant shall not be entitled to
bond."
>> Associated Press report >>
>> Huntsville
Times report >>
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Alice Tulanowksi of New Brunswick,
New Jersey, was placed under a gag
rule in 2000, though judges and the
New Jersey Chapter of the
Association of Family and
Conciliation Courts were left "free
to discuss the intimate details of
Alice's case" in public.
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Stanley Rains of Victoria, Texas, in
2001 was gagged "from speaking,
writing, or publishing his opinions"
about why he was cut off from his
daughter for more than two years,
according to court documents. The
order covers private conversations
and discussions with mental health
professionals and his minister.
Issued with no evidentiary hearing,
the order followed an article Rains
published in Fathering Magazine.
He was also prohibited from
criticizing a city council candidate
who was a divorce lawyer. The order
precluded Rains from photographing
death threats written on his
mother's car.
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The former husband of singer Wynonna
Judd was arrested and jailed for
talking to reporters about his
divorce.
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A California judge shut down the Web
site of "The Committee to Expose
Dishonest and Incompetent Attorneys
and Judges" in 2001.
>> full
article text >> (An
archived copy of the site is
available
here).
David Palmer was later exonerated of
charges that the Web site
constituted the unauthorized
practice of law (UPL).
>> full
article text >>
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In 2005, Texas Attorney General Greg
Abbott formally asked a federal
court to punish Charles Edward
Lincoln, for criticizing the state's
family courts. Abbott termed the
criticism, which consisted in filing
some court papers, "bloodless
terrorism."
Here in Colorado,
KnowYourCOURTS.com has received reports
from several parties alleging that judges
have either retaliated for talking about the
divorce case or the judge or have been
ordered to take down a Web site:
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One
contributor, who has asked us to
maintain his anonymity because
of his pending custody
case, informed us that he was
threatened or intimidated by a
family judge in relation to his Web
sites,
http://bigdogtk.blogspot.com
and
www.edbudd.150m.com.
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Another
contributor, who also asked us not
to reveal her name out of fear of
judicial retaliation, sent us
an
email,
where she alleged that Judge Roxanne
Bailin had ordered her to remove her
Web site (http://infaithsname.com),
which was critical of the judge and
CFI Bill J. Fyfe. She also alleged
that Bill J. Fyfe suggested or
initiated that the Boulder case be
sealed, so that no one would learn
what had transpired in that case.
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CoCourts.com
CoCourts.com
In 2000, Colorado became one of the first
states in the country to allow public access
to its court's information database. A
contract was awarded to Boulder-based e-InfoData.com,
Inc to create a public-access web site
interface to the data in the Colorado
Judicial Branch's Integrated Colorado
On-line Network (ICON). Access information
on Colorado district and county court cases
including both open and closed cases. An
individual's public court records can be
accessed by submitting their last name and
either the full first name or part thereof.
Searches can be further narrowed by
including the date of birth, and/or case
number. Sealed, probate, mental health, and
juvenile cases are not available. At the
time of this writing, the Web site charges
$6 per search, even if the query returns
null. Because KnowYourCourts.com assumes no
responsibility for the accuracy of this
information, please visit the site to
independently ascertain pricing and
services.
LexisNexis File-&-Serve
In
2000, Colorado became the first state to
adopt e-filing across the state using
LexisNexis File & Serve
and, at the time of this writing, leads the
nation in number of courts online and number
of filings and service transactions. All 64
counties are online, and e-filing is used in
over 80 percent of the general jurisdiction
court civil cases. Many Colorado courts have
already converted from voluntary to
mandatory e-filing. A fully mandatory
environment greatly reduces the burden on
the court clerk's office by reducing the
amount of scanning and providing judges with
a complete electronic case record, rather
than a record that is partially electronic
and partially paper. A detailed Colorado
e-filing case study is available at
www.lexisnexis.com/ColoradoStory.
Public access services are available
here.
Office of the Colorado State Court Administrator
Colorado State Court Administrator's Office
(1301 Pennsylvania Street, Suite 300,
Denver, CO - (303)-861-1111). Primary
contact:
public.access@judicial.state.co.us
Alternate contacts: Jessica Zender, Policy
Analyst (jessica.zender@judicial.state.co.us);
Linda Bowers, public access manager (linda.bowers@judicial.state.co.us).
This office is able to produce predefined
reports out of ICON for $.75 per page and
custom reports for $10 to $50 (or more,
depending on the requirements and time
involved). Contact them for current pricing
and service offerings.
National Center for State Courts
National Center for State Courts site,
Public Access to Court Records,
described as "an information clearinghouse
on the topic of public access to court
records and the current debate on privacy
concerns that arise as courts improve and
expand their court information systems and
put more information on the Internet."
Colorado Open Records Request
Mike Zinna's Web site,
ColoradoExposed.com, claims to be, "the
authority on requesting Open Records."
His page outlines a process for filing an Open
Records Request.
Feb. 19, 2008 - free access to U.S.
Court Decisions
Carl Malamud latest online "public
works" project,
public.resource.org, is claimed
to make available all Supreme Court
opinions dating back to the 1700s
and all U.S. appeals courts
decisions dating back to 1950. Some
commentators speculate that
Malamud's efforts potentially
represent a challenge to paid legal
research services
Thomson and
LexisNexis. . . . Malamud's
northern California-based non-profit
group last week received full
delivery of content from legal
research company
Fastcase, which agreed in
November to sell the information
with no strings attached. Malamud's
group has spent the past several
days reformatting the data to post
on the Web site. "We're about
getting bulk data and making it
available," free of charge, to the
public, Malamud told the Law Tribune
last week. "I want to see all
federal case law downloadable in
bulk." . . . He noted that there are
no restrictions on the use of the
information after it's downloaded
and that it's up to individuals to
create Web sites that utilize the
information. . . . Any initiative
that "makes case law available for
free in new and different ways is
something all librarians are in
favor of," said Darcy Kirk,
associate dean for library and
technology and law professor at the
University of Connecticut.
Read Full Story. |
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August 20, 2007 -
A Quest to Get More Court Rulings Online, and Free
(New York Times article)
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July 7, 2007 - Colorado
Supreme Court Issues Amended Policy on Public Access to Court Records to Reign
in Rogue District Court's Censorship Policies
The Colorado Supreme Court's Public Access
Committee has released an amended Chief Justice Directive 05-01, effective July 1,
2007, which rolls back much of the language that district court chief
judges, like Brooke Jackson (of the First Judicial District) seized upon as
authorization to engage in blanket censorship of public court records under
the pretext of identify theft concerns. KnowYourCOURTS.com has
prepared a detailed line-by-line text comparison, available
here.
More resources on this topic are found on our
public access pages.
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March 13, 2007 - Federal Court Moving Away from Secret Dockets - the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
"The Reporters Committee for
Freedom of the Press commends as
a good step forward in reducing
court secrecy the U.S. Judicial
Conference's vote today urging
federal courts to acknowledge
sealed cases in their electronic
dockets. The Conference - the
chief policy-making body for the
federal court system - today
strongly recommended all federal
trial courts with electronic
docketing systems clearly
indicate to users that cases are
sealed instead of displaying a
notice reading "No such case."
In announcing the change, Chief
Judge Thomas F. Hogan of the
U.S. District Court in
Washington, D.C., credited the
Reporters Committee with
uncovering the existence of the
off-the-docket cases, which he
said were unknown to many court
officials."
>>full article text>> |
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April 19, 2007 - Colorado court records cost-per-page set at 25¢
Colorado
Confidential
brings us the story that Colorado court records are no
longer $1.25 per page but, rather, are set at 25¢. This is
a "big" story for KnowYourCOURTS.com staff members, who have
shelled out anywhere from 75¢ a page to $1.25. As
Colorado Confidential reported
in late January, Colorado for many years led the country in
the highest cost per page that government agencies could
charge - a practice dating back to the days when copiers
were somewhat of a rarity. |
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April 6, 2007 - Florida High court prohibits lawsuit secrecy
The Florida Supreme Court ruled
unanimously Thursday that judges and clerks can no longer
hide divorces or other civil lawsuits from the public,
saying the practice threatens to ``undermine public trust in
our courts.'' KnowYourCOURTS editorial comment: If the
practice undermines public trust in the courts in Florida,
how is it any different in Colorado?
>>full article text>>
>>Fla. S.Ct. Ruling>> |
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In this
January 02,
2006 article, Merrill Douglas explores the
pros and cons of unfettered online public access to court
records that formerly required a trip to the courthouse to
obtain. |
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March, 2007 - The Seattle Times'
continuing series on secrecy of court records, "Your
Courts, Their Secrets," has won a National
Headliner Award, was a finalist for the 2007 Goldsmith Award
for Investigative Reporting and is said to be a Pulitzer
finalist.
The team at the Seattle Times, through diligence
and shoe-leather reporting, discovered that hundreds of
court cases have been sealed in King County, Washington.
The team went to court to have these files opened with the
result that misconduct by judges, medical practitioners,
school principals and others was revealed. The series has
lead to the passage of reform laws by the Washington Supreme
Court. |
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May 2006
Reference
Guide to Colorado Statutes Governing Access to Court
Records, prepared and distributed by the
State Court
Administrator's Office
(be certain to check for updates to this document) |
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Colorado Supreme Court
Chief Justice Directive 05-01 (Directive Concerning Access
to Court Records), prepared and promulgated by the
Colorado Supreme Court
(be certain to check for repeal or amendments to this
directive) |
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Exemptions and other
legal limitations to the Colorado Open Records Act (note:
this document contains useful information, but is dated.
Check the
Colorado statutes and
court rules
often for repeal or amendments) |
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April 2006 Associated
Press article, "Critics: Colorado Cases Need More
Accessibility" (reprinted on KnowYourCOURTS.com
with permission from the reporter/author) |
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March 12, 2006
Denver Post article, Judicial Districts Object to Public
Access to Files
Nearly a year after a 2005 directive from Martinez's panel
designed to protect public access, judicial districts
serving 19 of Colorado's 64 counties have . . .declared
files in all probate and domestic-relations matters, which
are mostly divorces, off-limits to the public.
>>full article text>> |
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April 2006 Press
Release by the Reporters' Committee for Freedom of the
Press: abstract: "Almost half of Colorado's 22 judicial
districts have closed public access to domestic relations
and probate files . . . The Reporters' Committee calls on
the court to revise their orders, and respectfully notes
that administrative duties -as costly as they may be- are an
aspect of the courts' First Amendment obligation to
accommodate the public's access to court records." |
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April 30, 2002 Trial
Lawyers for Public Justice
Comment on February 22, 2002
Draft Model Policy on Public Access to Court Records,
incorporating authorities. |
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July 2003
article,
"Are public court records too public in cyberspace?"
Abstract: "Karen Salez, a spokeswoman for the Colorado
Judicial Department, said that state's court system is
laying off staff, so putting court records online is a low
priority." |
Citizen inquiries regarding public
Access to court records
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inquiry |
response |
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7-11-2006
memorandum to
Colorado Solicitor General |
7-27-2006
memorandum from
Colorado Solicitor General |
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6-30-2006
memorandum to
Justice Alex Martinez |
No Response |
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6-28-2006
memorandum to
Gov. Owens |
No Response |
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6-28-2006
memorandum to
First Judicial District Chief
Judge R. Brooke Jackson |
7-15-2005
response from
First Judicial District Chief
Judge R. Brooke Jackson |
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If you have information, corrections or
updates regarding public access to court
records in Colorado, please contact us:
tipline@knowYourCourts.com
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