The ACLU of Colorado participated as amicus along with Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, the League of Women Voters of Colorado, the National Freedom of Information Coalition and the Parents-Safety Advocacy Group in case involving the Colorado Open Meetings Law (COML). This case arose out of the actions of the Woodland Park School Board when reviewing a proposal by a school to become chartered in the school district. The initial public notices about this review were vaguely mentioned on the school board meeting agendas. Erin O’Connell filed a lawsuit challenging the notices and the board re-noticed the issue for a meeting two weeks later where the agenda item was discussed and re-approved.
The Court of Appeals held that although the lawsuit correctly identified an earlier violation of the COML, the board “cured” the violation through its actions at the subsequent, post-litigation board meeting. The Court of Appeals established the cure doctrine in 2012, holding that a state or local public body may ‘cure’ a prior violation of the COML by holding a subsequent complying meeting, as long as the subsequent meeting is not a mere ‘rubber stamping’ of an earlier decision made in violation of the law. The amicus brief asked the Colorado Supreme Court to hold that the judicially created “cure” doctrine goes against the open meetings law’s “plain meaning” and “longstanding precedent.”
The Court is also reviewing whether the Court of Appeals incorrectly rejected the awarding of attorney fees to O’Connell following her successful challenge to the Woodland Park school board. Public bodies must not be permitted to “cure” infringements of the Colorado Open Meetings Law without being held accountable to the citizens who file lawsuits to enforce compliance. Our brief asks the Supreme Court to provide clear guidance for all public bodies and courts regarding when citizens are entitled to attorney fees for successfully causing a public body to comply with the law.