Log in
My Account
Subscribe 99¢ for 3 months
Newsletter

Today's Digital Newspaper

The Denver Gazette

loader-image
weather icon 14°F
Weather from WeatherAPI

Daily Weather Report
Powered By:

Login
My Account
Subscribe
Newsletter

Archive Information

Carrier Portal

Search

Buy Our Photos

How sealed criminal records in Colorado may be released to the public

By November 28, 2022 | updated 3 years ago

Lady Justice before a flag of Colorado
FILE ART: Close-up of a small bronze statuette of Lady Justice before a flag of Colorado.
COURTESY OF GWENGOAT

New footage obtained by The Gazette shows events during a 2021 bomb threat that lead to the arrest of 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, whose name and age match that of the suspect arrested in Saturday’s Club Q shooting. In this screen recording provided by the owner of the house where Aldrich’s mother lived at the time of the threat, a man appears to be live-streaming the bomb threat while wearing body armor.


{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “VideoObject”,
“name”: “NEWS | Facebook live video shows events during 2021 bomb threat incident”,
“description”: “New footage obtained by The Gazette shows events during a 2021 bomb threat that lead to the arrest of 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, whose name and age match that of the suspect arrested in Saturday’s Club Q shooting. In this screen recording provided by the owner of the house where Aldrich’s mother lived at the time of the threat, a man appears to be live-streaming the bomb threat while wearing body armor.”,
“thumbnailUrl”: “https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/denvergazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/5a/45a91b3d-501c-5cd6-8f5c-9af419bd390f/637c1bb1b3f57.image.jpg?resize=1396%2C785”,
“uploadDate”: “2022-11-21T16:12:00-07:00”,
“contentUrl”: “https://cdn.field59.com/GAZETTE/5e24dd9b68a6b6f58f099a982b922ec2eb66a065_fl9-360p.mp4”
}

While state law requires the automatic sealing of criminal records when a case is completely dismissed, the statutes also offer mechanisms for unsealing them.

The first mechanism is available to both the victim and defendant.

The second mechanism is available to members of the public, but that path can be arduous. 

Colorado law says that the courts may permit the defendant — often the petitioner to seal records — to inspect them. The prosecuting attorney or a law enforcement agency may also release copies of police reports or any protection orders issued in the sealed case to the victim. The latter must demonstrate the need for the records and they can only be used for a “lawful purpose.”

Garfield County judge wrongly imposed contempt sanction on mother, appeals court finds

Members of the public can petition to see the records “upon a showing that circumstances have come into existence since the original sealing and, as a result, the public interest in disclosure now outweighs the defendant’s interest in privacy.”

News entities often cite this provision in requesting the courts to unseal records. The argument is that a recent development — such as a crime allegedly perpetuated by the same person whose criminal records have been sealed — now outweighs that individuals’ right to privacy.

Lawmakers modified the law on sealing criminal records in 2019 by automatically preventing their retrieval when a case is entirely dismissed. 

The ability to seal records in cases where charges have been dismissed has been in Colorado’s statutes for decades, but previous versions of the law required defendants to petition the courts for their records to be sealed. The new modification made that process automatic in certain cases.  

That same statute is likely what sealed the records from a 2021 bomb threat incident in which a man with the same name and age as the Club Q shooting suspect was arrested.  

Appeals court finds no problem with sleeping juror at Arapahoe County trial

In June 2021, an Anderson Lee Aldrich was arrested over a bomb threat that forced residents in a Lorson Ranch neighborhood in southeast Colorado Springs to evacuate from their homes for about three hours.

An El Paso County Sheriff’s Office press release at the time said that a woman reported that her son, Aldrich, “threatened to cause harm to her with a homemade bomb, multiple weapons, and ammunition.”

No formal charges were pursued in that case, which has since been sealed.

Luige Del Puerto

Reporter

Welcome Back.

Streak: 9 days i

Stories you've missed since your last login:

Stories you've saved for later:

Recommended stories based on your interests:

Edit my interests