Tag: jefferson county
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Colorado Cost of Living: Struggling to get by in Jefferson County
Twenty-year-old Ashton Starcher hasn’t had a solid living space since he moved to Jefferson County in 2023. As of April, Starcher is staying with his friend and his friend’s girlfriend in a parent’s basement in Lakewood. Starcher said the ever-rising price of living in the area, even in the suburbs of Denver, has caused him…
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Is not sharing caring? For hikers and mountain bikers, it’s a question around Colorado’s busiest trails
Should some trails be for bikes only and other trails for people on foot? Or should there be rules on which direction bikers, hikers, runners and equestrians move? Or should there be certain days of the week for certain uses? Maybe not sharing is caring? Across the Colorado Front Range’s increasingly complicated recreation landscape, these…
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Federal judges hear arguments over Colorado school district’s gender identity rooming policy
A panel of judges at the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit challenging JeffCo Public School’s policy of assigning students to overnight accommodations on school trips based on gender identity. The lawsuit, filed in 2024, alleged that the policy infringes on parents’ religious freedom by denying them notice or…
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Colorado justices recognize limited right to evidence in postconviction challenges
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that defendants challenging their convictions may, in certain circumstances, be entitled to receive the information the prosecution already handed over for trial at no cost. The justices rejected the argument that defendants seeking postconviction relief must use the open records law specific to criminal justice records, which prosecutors’…
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Lifetime sex offender registration not ‘punishment,’ Colorado justices say
The Colorado Supreme Court concluded on Monday that lifetime sex offender registration is not cruel and unusual punishment because it is not “punishment.” At the same time, two members urged lawmakers to heed the advice of the Sex Offender Management Board and adopt a new, more accurate system of measuring a person’s risk of recidivism.…
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Red means go: 8 red rock destinations to visit in Colorado
The color red is central to some of Colorado’s greatest natural beauty, and it’s central to this state’s name. “Colorado” is derived from the Spanish phrase for “colored red,” as early explorers came to view the waterway we now call the Colorado River. The Spaniards then followed that river, which was tinted by silt that…
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Appeals court finds no illegal sentence when defendants forfeit time-served credit
Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday that criminal defendants may agree to relinquish the credits they earned while incarcerated pending trial, despite a state law guaranteeing that such time “shall be deducted” from a person’s sentence. Kerry Ellis Endsley pleaded guilty in Jefferson County to attempted murder and attempt to disarm a peace officer. His…
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Colorado lawmakers seek faster warrant response from social media firms
Proponents argue legislation would prevent school shootings Colorado officials on Monday claimed that the Evergreen High School shooting could have been prevented if social media companies had been required to respond faster to warrants — and they are pushing legislation at the state and federal levels to speed up that process. Current laws allow social…
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Christopher Zenisek, trial judge experienced with high-profile cases | SUPREME COURT FINALISTS
After the Marshall fire burned through Boulder County in the final days of 2021 and wound up destroying more than 1,000 homes, the sprawling 4,000-plaintiff litigation was assigned to District Court Judge Christopher Zenisek of Jefferson County. Zenisek would go on to issue more than 100 orders, hold dozens of hearings and, ultimately, much of…
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10th Circuit rebuffs Jeffco’s attempt to expand immunity footprint
The Denver-based federal appeals court confirmed on Wednesday that it would not treat a judge’s decision to move a civil case forward as the automatic equivalent of denying immunity to governmental officials. The order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit came one month after a trial judge deemed Jefferson County’s appeal…