Colorado Law Blog

Concealed weapons will no longer be permitted on Colorado State University's two campuses. The CSU System Board of Governors unanimously approved the ban Tuesday at a meeting in Pueblo.

The sheriff of Larimer County, which includes Fort Collins, and some student groups at both campuses opposed the ban. Faculty supported it. After the events of this past week at a Colorado middle school, just 3 miles from Columbine High School, the move would appear to be a prudent one.

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The surgical room nurse who infected at least 18 patients at Rose Medical Center in 2008 and 2009, was sentenced to thirty years in prison yesterday. The judge, in imposing a much stiffer sentence than federal prosecutors had initially agreed to, called the crime "as incomprehensible as it is unconscionable." He said the hospital worker, Kristen D. Parker, had shown "a terrible selfishness."

Hepatitis C affects liver function and can have lifelong consequences. All 18 victims have been matched by DNA analysis of the Hep C strain to Kristen Parker

Ms. Parker, 27, spoke before her sentencing, saying she would carry her guilt for the rest of her life. But Judge Blackburn showed little sympathy or compassion for Parker. Last month, he took the unusual step of rejecting a plea bargain that would have given Ms. Parker 20 years in prison, saying that it did not adequately take into account her victims' fates.

On Wednesday, the judge said he believed that Ms. Parker knew that taking pain medication from people going into surgery -- the used syringes replaced with water or saline -- would increase their suffering, and that her dirty needles, placed back on the surgical trays for use, were tainted by hepatitis.

He said that her addiction-fueled need for drugs could explain her stealing the medication. What justified the lengthy imprisonment, he said, was her victimizing the patients yet again by putting back dirty needles.

Rose Medical Center issued a statement after the sentencing stating that the hospital would "continue to work with each of those who were impacted by Parker's crimes to ensure they receive the care they need" and that systems for policing medications in the operating rooms had been upgraded. Fifteen victims have threatened to file a civil lawsuit against the hospital, and several victims and family members said Wednesday that they thought Rose was partly responsible for what had occurred.

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Key provisions of the Credit CARD Act of 2009 take effect today including those that prevent issuers from arbitrarily slapping consumers with higher interest rates , changing how consumer credit will be provided and used, and who will ultimately get it.

• Interest-rate hikes are limited on existing balances unless you have a variable-rate card. You must be 60 days late on a minimum payment before a hike can occur and then must receive 45 days' notice of the impending change, which you can refuse and close the account.
• Punitive rate increases for late payments must be rescinded if you pay your bill on time over a certain period, typically six months.
• No over-limit fees if you don't agree to them. That also means your credit card can be denied at the point of purchase if you've exceeded your credit limit.
• Due dates must remain stable. No more shifting dates which can result in users being late.
• Fair application of payments. The oldest charges or those with highest interest are to be paid down first.

Though not required until July, changes in credit-card statements are coming too. Statements will have a simplified look that clearly tells consumers how long it will take them to pay an existing balance with just the minimum payments. In August, the Federal Reserve is expected to issue rules on the penalty fees that credit cards can charge and how to ensure they are reasonable.

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If you have a Colorado driver's license or ID, you can now provide emergency contact information to be accessed by authorities. By supplying your driver's license/ID number, date of birth, and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number, you can provide the contact information for two people to be contacted in the event that you are the victim of an accident or crime. It is a simple online form at: https://www.colorado.gov/apps/dor/emergency/contact/start.jsf. Complete the form and you may avoid becoming a "John or Jane Doe."

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In a new survey of divorce lawyers, 81 percent say they have seen an increase in the use of social networking evidence during the past five years. The survey, conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, pinpoints Facebook as the "unrivaled leader for online divorce evidence" with 66 percent citing it as a primary source, according to a news release about the survey.

Many divorce lawyers already tell clients to terminate social networking pages immediately. While Facebook has proven to be the evidence leader, the survey notes that 15 percent of lawyers say they've found evidence on MySpace and five percent from Twitter.

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Colorado Governor Bill Ritter announced yesterday plans to take a dispute over campaign finance laws directly to the state supreme court. The governor is asking the court to determine if state campaign finance laws are unconstitutional in light of the recent 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizens United. See Mutual Destruction in Judicial Elections Predicted.

The decision is at odds with Colorado's Amendment 27, which was approved by voters in 2002 and bans such spending. Members of thelegislature are drafting a resolution supporting Ritter's decision to go to the high court. Lawmakers hope for a quick ruling from the state supreme court before the state legislature adjourns on May 12.

If the court finds the law unconstitutional, companies and labor organizations could immediately begin raising money for the November elections. It is hard to magine, but we may be subjected to even more negative campaign ads thi election year.

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Can schools discipline students for Internet speech posted offsite? Federal appellate judges wrestling reached different rulings this week in two Pennsylvania cases which posed this question.

However, a different three-judge panel said in Layshock v. Hermitage School District that school officials in Mercer County cannot reach into a family's home and police the Internet. That case also involves a MySpace parody of a principal created by a student at home.

School boards and free-speech advocates found lttle guidane after awaiting the rulings for clarity on how far schools can go to control both online speech and offsite behavior.

Similar cases have surfaced across the country, with different rulings, but none have reached the Supreme Court. Judges are therefore left to rely on decades-old Supreme Court case law on the limits of school discipline for guidance.

In the Blue Mountain case, both the district and circuit courts upheld the 14-year-old student's 10-day suspension. The appellate opinion concluded that her lewd, sexually graphic posting was likely to cause a disruption at school, and could therefore be restricted under prior case law.

The Web page, which used a fake name but an actual photo of the principal, was purported to have been posted by an Alabama principal who described himself as a pedophile and sex addict. The Internet address included the phrase "kids rock my bed." The principal and other students at Blue Mountain quickly became aware of it, discussing it at school the next day, according to testimony.

In the Mercer County case, the U.S. District Judge had ruled that Hermitage School District officials failed to show then-senior Justin Layshock's parody MySpace profile of his Hickory High School principal substantially disrupted school operations.

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The First Amendment right to freedom of speech doesn't necessarily apply to bumper stickers, ruled a split panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week in Denver - at least when the bumper sticker in question is on private property and the U.S. president is involved.

In the majority opinion in Weise v. Casper, Judges Paul Kelly and Deanell Reece Tacha held that the plaintiffs "simply have not identified any First Amendment doctrine that prohibits the government from excluding them from an official speech on private property on the basis of their viewpoint."

Judge William Holloway, in his dissent, said "it is simply astounding that any member of the executive branch could have believed that our Constitution justified this egregious violation of plaintiffs' rights."

The ACLU is considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced last week a federal guidance to expressly prohibit texting by drivers of commercial vehicles such as large trucks and buses. The prohibition is effective immediately and is the latest in a series of actions taken by the Department to combat distracted driving since the Secretary convened a national summit on the issue last September.

The ban is the result of the Department's interpretation of standing rules. Truck and bus drivers who text while driving commercial vehicles may be subject to civil or criminal penalties of up to $2,750.

FMCSA research shows that drivers who send and receive text messages take their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds out of every 6 seconds while texting. At 55 miles per hour, this means that the driver is traveling the length of a football field, including the end zones, without looking at the road. The risk of a texting driver having an accident is more than 20 times greater than that for non-distracted drivers. Because of the safety risks associated with the use of electronic devices while driving, FMCSA is also working on additional regulatory measures that will be announced in the coming months.

During the September 2009 Distracted Driving Summit, the Secretary announced the Department's plan to pursue this regulatory action, as well as rulemakings to reduce the risks posed by distracted driving. President Obama also signed an Executive Order directing federal employees not to engage in text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles or with government-owned equipment. Federal employees were required to comply with the ban starting on December 30, 2009.

Colorado's ban on texting while driving took effect in December 2009. It is illegal for drivers to text, e-mail or tweet behind the wheel. Violators risk a $50 fine and repeat offenders could get a $100 ticket.

Colorado's law also bars those under 18 from talking on their cell phones while driving. According to AAA, 18 other states and the District of Columbia have passed texting-while-driving laws. A national survey by the organization found that 95 percent of drivers disapproved of texting behind the wheel but that 18 percent of them admitted to texting or e-mailing while driving in the past month.

Aurora police in January cited a 19-year-old Denver woman under the state's new texting ban, marking the first time in Aurora -- and likely Colorado -- officers have enforced the new law on texting while driving. According to police reports, an Aurora police officer cited the woman after she crashed her car into a median or curb near Tower Road and Interstate 70 on January 3. The woman later admitted to police she crashed because she was texting and police cited her under the new law.

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