A federal lawsuit filed against Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers claiming she blacklisted a therapist has been dropped.
In the suit, Kris Newland claimed she was blackballed after testifying in court for a man accused of child sex abuse. The man was acquitted.
In the lawsuit, Newland said Chambers instructed a group that directs referrals to therapists to stop sending cases to Newland.
Newland had said that most of her referrals came from the Arapahoe County Department of Human Services and the victims compensation board, which is considered a division of the DA’s office.
But Newland’s attorney, Barry Arrington, said Wednesday that during the discovery process of court proceedings, he learned that Chambers and another prosecutor named as a defendant in the suit did nothing wrong.
“Turns out the information we were given was wrong,” Arrington said. “Carol Chambers’ office did not blacklist her.”
DA spokeswoman Casimir Spencer said both sides agreed to drop the case. U.S. District Judge Robert Blackburn dismissed it Sept. 1 with prejudice, meaning Newland can’t bring it up again.
“From our side, there was never any blacklisting involved,” Spencer said. “From the beginning, we were denying the accusations we were accused of.”
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com
