Gazette v. Bourgerie.

2024 CO 78. No. 23SC420. Open Records—Compliance With Disclosure Requests—Public Records Access—Statutory Interpretation.

December 23, 2024

The supreme court considered whether a division of the court of appeals erred in concluding that records that journalists requested from the Colorado Peace Officers Standards and Training Board (POST) regarding peace officer demographics, certification, and decertification constitute “criminal justice records” and thus are governed by the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA), CRS §§ 24-72-301 to -309. After examining the Colorado Open Records Act, CRS §§ 24-72-200.1 to -205.5, and the CCJRA, as well as POST’ s enabling legislation and testimony before the district court, the supreme court affirmed the court of appeals’ judgment, albeit on slightly different grounds. Specifically, the court concluded that POST qualifies as a criminal justice agency—and that the CCJRA governs the requested records—because POST performs activities “directly relating to the detection or investigation of crime.” § 24-72-302(3).