Adelson v. Oeser

Case Number: 2023CV30088

Court: Elbert County District Court

Clients: Aaron Adelson, KUSA-9 News

Complaint Filed: Oct. 6, 2023

Background: In August 2023, KUSA-9 News reporter Aaron Adelson submitted a Colorado Open Records Act request to the town of Elizabeth seeking access to the disciplinary records of the town’s former police chief.

Town officials denied Adelson’s request four separate times, claiming that the information was exempt from disclosure under the state public records law because they consider it part of the former police chief’s “personnel file.”

On behalf of Adelson and KUSA-9 News, Rachael Johnson, the Reporters Committee’s Local Legal Initiative attorney for Colorado, sued the town clerk for access to the disciplinary records. The lawsuit, which argues that the records fall outside of the CORA exemption for personnel files, asks the court to issue an order directing the town to make the records available to Adelson for inspection.

Filings:

2023-10-06: Complaint/application for order to show cause

2024-01-19: Plaintiffs’ brief