High school students and members of the public can witness a potentially precedent-setting case on Dec. 7 before the Colorado Supreme Court. That day, the seven justices will hold court at Arapahoe High School, as part of the courts-in-the-community program, to hear arguments on the city of Denver’s right to adopt stricter gun laws than the rest of the state. Assistant City Attorney David Broadwell will base his argument on the city’s home-rule authority. The case is being closely watched by other metro cities whose gun-control ordinances, like Denver’s, were wiped off the books by a 2003 law.
Denver sued the state after Gov. Bill Owens signed the controversial law pre-empting gun-control laws that go beyond state or federal controls. The state law, for instance, tossed aside ordinances banning assault weapons and open carrying of firearms.
A district court judge last year ruled that Denver could continue to regulate assault weapons, handguns known as “Saturday night specials” and the open carrying of guns. The state appealed. Broadwell said that since the state law passed, there have been several incidents in Denver that should have involved arrests. But Denver police are holding off enforcement pending the conclusion of the case. When a man paraded around the City and County Building sporting a loaded gun and holster, police simply monitored, he said. “Once the court rules, we should know the extent of our municipal power,” Broadwell said. The court could issue a ruling by early 2006.
New rule for inmates’ funds
The families of Colorado prison inmates send an estimated $10 million a year in money orders to their loved ones behind bars. With a population of nearly 21,000 prisoners in 22 state-run institutions, that’s a lot of paper. Starting Nov. 1, the Department of Corrections will eliminate paper deposits and require electronic transfers.
CURE, a prison reform and advocacy group, is concerned that families who now pay around 90 cents for a $500 money order at a local grocery or through the U.S. Postal Service will have to pay much more. The DOC has contracted with Western Union and JPay. The latter charges $11.95 to send $300 by phone.
DOC executive Alison Morgan says electronic transfers will be more costly but “faster, safer and more efficient.” It will get money to inmates more quickly and eliminate lost checks and fraudulent money orders.
Why do inmates need money, anyway? The state provides the bars, the cells and the food, but unless inmates are indigent, they’re responsible for such items as soap, toothpaste and shampoo. They also like to buy a snack now and then.
Private voting for Utes
Ute Indians in Colorado who speak their native language will for the first time in 2006 be able to vote in private. The federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 is requiring every polling place to have direct record equipment for handicapped voters and those who speak a language other than English or Spanish, the two languages in which Colorado election ballots are printed. With the new machines, voters will simply don a set of headphones, push a button for their language and vote. The secretary of state’s office is in the process of making a statewide assessment to determine what languages should be available.
Jennifer Weddle, attorney with Holland and Hart and the state’s voter protection coordinator for the National Congress of American Indians, said that many tribal languages, including that spoken by some of Colorado’s Southern Utes and Ute Mountain Utes, are not written. Until now, native speakers have used translators in the voting booth or didn’t vote at all. “We’re working to ensure access to voting for native people,” said Weddle. “The possibility of new voting machines is really exciting.” And high time.
Julia C. Martinez (jmartinez@denverpost.com) is a member of The Denver Post editorial board.
