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Denver

Michael Mendenhall outside his Denver business | Institute for Justice

Fourth Amendment

Denver Case Highlights the Potentially Deadly Hazards of Police Raids Based on Secondhand Information

Michael Mendenhall wants the Supreme Court to reconsider a precedent that allows home invasions based on nothing but hearsay.

Jacob Sullum | 6.9.2025 4:20 PM

SWAT team | Denver Police Department

Police

Colorado SWAT Team Raids Wrong Apartment, Locks Innocent Family in Police Car

The cops tried to cover up their mistake after they "terrorized" the family, according to a lawsuit.

Emma Camp | 2.27.2025 1:10 PM

Tables and tablecloths set up in a parking lot, surrounded by food trucks. | Radiokafka | Dreamstime.com

Food Trucks

Brickbat: Open Carryout

Charles Oliver | 9.18.2024 4:00 AM

An overhead shot of the Horsetooth Reservoir near Fort Collins, Colorado, with a kayaker in the distance. An unmanned flying drone is visible in the extreme foreground. | Marek Uliasz | Dreamstime.com

Surveillance

Colorado Will Replace Cops With Drones for Some 911 Calls

While drones are less likely to shoot or maim innocent civilians, they could also pose privacy issues.

Joe Lancaster | 5.31.2024 4:50 PM

Ruby Johnson sits on the bumper of a vehicle with its back doors open while a man wearing camo holds one door open | CNN

Police

78-Year-Old Grandmother Awarded $3.8 Million After Illegal SWAT Raid

The legal victory has been attributed to a 2020 law banning qualified immunity for police in Colorado.

Emma Camp | 3.6.2024 3:38 PM

Screenshot from police body camera footage | DPD Body-cam footage

Police

Denver Cop Kills Man Holding a Marker

Plus: The Atlantic says anti-racists are overcorrecting, NYC targets landlords of unlicensed cannabis growers, and more...

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 8.16.2023 9:36 AM

John Stossel and Colorado Gov. Jared Polis | Stossel TV

Freedom

The Democratic Governor Who Wants Drug Legalization and Free Markets

"Government in general does a lot of things that aren't necessary," says Jared Polis.

John Stossel | 8.2.2023 12:30 AM

NBA player Joel Embiid takes a shot, mid-air, with players on the Boston Celtics around him. | Sports Press Photo/Colleen Claggett/SPP/Sipa USA/Newscom

Immigration

Immigration Should Be as Easy for Everyone As It Is for NBA Players

How many incredible would-be immigrants are being kept out unfairly?

Jordan McGillis and Daniel Di Martino | 4.28.2023 3:05 PM

Golf course | Vojtech Vlk/Dreamstime.com

Housing Policy

Denver Voters Reject Plan To Let Developer Convert Its Private Golf Course Into Thousands of Homes

Developer Westside wanted to turn its 155-acre property into 3,200 homes and a public park.

Christian Britschgi | 4.5.2023 3:15 PM

Denver golf course superimposed on the planned Park Hill development | Lex Villena; Welcomia/Dreamstime.com, Yes for Parks and Homes

Housing Policy

Ex-Lawmakers, Socialist City Councilmember Fight Putting New Housing on Shuttered Denver Golf Course

An oddball coalition of neighborhood activists and left-wing politicians have opposed plans to convert the privately owned site to housing, citing the loss of open space and impacts on gentrification.

Christian Britschgi | 2.28.2023 1:15 PM

Man with nunchucks | Loganban / Dreamstime.com

Brickbats

Brickbat: A Real Ninja

Charles Oliver | 1.17.2023 4:00 AM

Yellow police tape across a food truck | Illustration: Lex Villena; Nathan Griffin, Ekostsov

Police

Denver Police Hurt 6 Bystanders in a Shooting. So the City Cracked Down on Food Trucks.

The police admitted wrongdoing, but Denver moved forward with a plan to reduce crowds and crimes downtown—by targeting food trucks that did nothing wrong.

Fiona Harrigan | 8.24.2022 1:16 PM

Joe Manchin Senate Build Back Better Biden Congress spending taxes | Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA/Newscom

Reason Roundup

Did Joe Manchin Just Sink Biden's 'Build Back Better' Plan Again?

Plus: Why government responses to risk can create more harm than good, why Denver will no longer block illegal immigrants from starting businesses, and more...

Eric Boehm | 7.15.2022 9:30 AM

reason-guney2 | (Source: Hollynd Hoskins/Illustration by Lex Villena.)

Sports

Denver Drops Effort To Criminally Prosecute Pickleball Enthusiast Who Made Small 'X's on City-Owned Gym Floor

The city is insisting that 71-year-old Arslan Guney pay nearly $5,000 to cover the alleged costs of restoring the gym floor.

Christian Britschgi | 5.11.2022 5:00 PM

reason-guney2 | (Source: Hollynd Hoskins/Illustration by Lex Villena.)

Criminal Justice

71-Year-Old Pickleball Enthusiast Armed With Sharpie Arrested for Felony Criminal Mischief

Arslan Guney spent 10 hours in jail for making a few marks on a gym floor. He could still get three years in prison.

Christian Britschgi | 3.28.2022 3:20 PM

zumaglobalnine621632 | Brian Branch Price/ZUMA Press/Newscom

Elections

Voters Don't Want To Pay for Your Dumb Stadium

In Albuquerque, Augusta, and Denver, plans to borrow and spend on stadiums got soundly defeated on Election Day.

Eric Boehm | 11.5.2021 11:45 AM

v1 | (Illustration: Lex Villena; Illustration 29348434 © Teichman | Dreamstime.com, Illustration 159556458 © Valeriy Kachaev | Dreamstime.com)

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court Declines To Determine if You Have a First Amendment Right To Film the Police

Denver cops received qualified immunity after performing a warrantless search of a man’s tablet and trying to delete a video he took of them beating a suspect.

Billy Binion | 11.1.2021 3:16 PM

131 | Illustration: Lex Villena; Illustration 29348434 © Teichman | Dreamstime.com, Illustration 159556458 © Valeriy Kachaev | Dreamstime.com

Qualified Immunity

Cops Tried To Force a Man To Delete a Video of Them Beating a Suspect. They Got Qualified Immunity.

The officers knowingly violated the First Amendment, said the court. But that doesn't matter.

Billy Binion | 3.30.2021 4:59 PM

reason-hancock | MOLLY RILEY/UPI/Newscom

Colorado

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock Urged People Not To Travel for Thanksgiving Shortly Before Boarding His Flight

The mayor is traveling to Mississippi to spend the holiday with his wife and daughter.

Christian Britschgi | 11.25.2020 4:50 PM

The-Coffee-Joint-Denver-exterior-Facebook | Facebook

Marijuana

New Law Finally Authorizes Cannabis Cafés in Colorado, the First State to Allow Recreational Sales

Marijuana merchants, restaurants, and "mobile premises" can let customers partake if they get state and local approval.

Jacob Sullum | 12.30.2019 5:40 PM

Large image for longform feature pages. | Kathryn Scott Osler/The Denver Post, via Getty Images

Militarization of Police

Cops Destroyed This House To Arrest a Shoplifter. A Federal Court Says Police Don't Have To Pay for the Damage.

Are there any limits to what police can do in pursuit of a suspect? The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals apparently doesn't think so.

Eric Boehm | 10.31.2019 4:00 PM

dreamstime_xxl_133458534 | Seventyfourimages | Dreamstime.com

Minimum Wage

Denver's Proposed $15.87 Minimum Wage Hike 'Hurts the People It's Trying To Help'

The restaurant industry would likely suffer under the legislation.

Billy Binion | 9.27.2019 4:55 PM

pregnantlabor_1161x653 | Liven / Dreamstime.com

Brickbats

Brickbat: Hard Labor

Charles Oliver | 9.6.2019 4:00 AM

reason-tomdiner | Youtube

Property Rights

Neighborhood Activists Would Rather Preserve Tom's Diner Than Let Its Owner Retire in Peace

Denver NIMBYs are using historic preservation laws to stop a restaurant owner from selling his diner to a developer so he can retire.

Christian Britschgi | 8.1.2019 4:15 PM

psilocybin-mushrooms-Newscom-2 | Frank Roeder/Newscom

Psychedelics

Psychonautical Journalist Michael Pollan Says the FDA, Not Voters, Should Decide Who Gets to Use Psilocybin

The approach Pollan prefers will not get us to the destination he says he wants to reach.

Jacob Sullum | 5.10.2019 12:05 PM

psychedlic mushrooms | Wikipedia

Psychedelics

Will Decriminalizing Psilocybin Hasten the End of the War on Drugs?

The case against prohibition cannot depend on persuading people that certain substances are benign and beneficial.

Jacob Sullum | 5.9.2019 1:15 PM

DECRIM_STARTSCREEN

Mushrooms

Denver Just Became the First U.S. City to Decriminalize Psychedelic Mushrooms

The surprise results will embolden efforts by activists in other states to legalize psilocybin for medical and religious use.

C.J. Ciaramella | 5.8.2019 7:33 PM

psilocybin-mushrooms-Newscom-big | Martin Garwood/NHPA/Photoshot/Newscom

Psychedelics

UPDATED: What Does the Failure [or Success!] of Denver's Psilocybin Initiative Mean for the Future of Pharmacological Freedom?

Majority support for legalizing marijuana does not mean most Americans believe people have a right to control what they put into their bodies.

Jacob Sullum | 5.8.2019 1:35 PM

Mushroom_Decrim_startscreen

Psilocybin

Denver Mushroom Decriminalization Appears to Have Passed [UPDATED]

"Whether you're using this plant for a medical reason, or a spiritual reason, or a recreational reason, you should not be going to jail or losing your children for it."

Zach Weissmueller and Justin Monticello | 5.8.2019 12:30 PM

Large image on homepages | Jaromír Chalabala/Dreamstime.com

Police

Reporter Says She Was Cuffed for Photographing a Cop in Public

Prosecutors have declined to file charges against the officer.

Joe Setyon | 8.24.2018 2:40 PM

Large image on homepages | Screenshot via YouTube/USA TODAY

Denver

FBI Agent Who Accidentally Shot Someone While Dancing Gets to Keep His Gun

An agent who accidentally shot someone while dancing can't be around alcohol, but can keep his gun.

Zuri Davis | 7.11.2018 12:30 PM

Large image on homepages

Marijuana

Denver Contradicts Itself by Targeting Previously Tolerated Cannabis Tour Buses

The rolling lounges are one of the few options for visitors who want to use marijuana but can't find pot-friendly lodging.

Jacob Sullum | 6.18.2018 2:20 PM

Large image on homepages | Lewis Hine, National Child Labor Committee Collection at the Library of Congress

Drugs

Denver Is Hiring Teen Cigarette Narcs

Jay Stooksberry | 10.8.2017 6:00 AM

Large image on homepages | Alesnowak/Dreamstime.com

Homelessness

Denver Police Can No Longer Take Blankets From Freezing Homeless People. For Now, Anyway

Mayor temporarily suspends the confiscation of survival gear from homeless during cold weather months.

Anthony Fisher | 12.13.2016 3:30 PM

Large image on homepages

Marijuana

Colorado Regulators Ban Marijuana Use in Businesses That Serve Alcohol

Denver's newly approved pilot program won't include bars or restaurants with liquor licenses.

Jacob Sullum | 11.21.2016 11:50 AM

Large image on homepages

Marijuana

7 Lame Arguments Against Letting Denver Businesses Welcome Cannabis Consumers

Denver voters rejected the idea that marijuana use should be confined to the home.

Jacob Sullum | 11.17.2016 8:10 AM

Large image on homepages | Flickr/Jeffrey Beall

Denver

Denver Police Will Have a New Use of Force Policy

The "minimum amount of force necessary" will be encouraged.

Anthony Fisher | 10.27.2016 3:00 PM

Large image on homepages

Policy

Judge Dismisses Denver D.A.'s Unconstitutional Jury Tampering Charges

Mitch Morrissey tried to imprison activists for passing out jury nullification pamphlets.

Jacob Sullum | 12.17.2015 8:00 AM

Large image on homepages

Civil Liberties

How Will We Help the Homeless Without Government, Which Just Sent Squads of Cops to Destroy "Microhouses" for Homeless on Government Property in Denver?

Brian Doherty | 10.27.2015 9:57 PM

Large image on homepages

Policy

Denver Initiative Allowing Marijuana Use in More Settings Is Nixed

The backers prefer to negotiate a solution with city leaders.

Jacob Sullum | 9.3.2015 10:33 AM

Large image on homepages

Civil Liberties

Denver's Unconstitutional Harassment of Jury Nullification Activists

The city treats handing out pamphlets near a courthouse as a crime.

Jacob Sullum | 9.2.2015 12:01 AM

Large image on homepages

Civil Liberties

Denver Police Continue Harassing Jury Nullification Activists, One Day After a Federal Judge Told Them to Cut It Out

According to the cops, a stack of pamphlets is an illegal "encumbrance."

Jacob Sullum | 8.27.2015 8:36 AM

Large image on homepages

Civil Liberties

Denver Concedes Distributing Jury Nullification Pamphlets Near a Courthouse Is Constitutionally Protected

But it still won't drop charges against activists arrested for distributing jury nullification pamphlets near a courthouse.

Jacob Sullum | 8.26.2015 3:18 PM

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