Opinion

JONATHAN TURLEY: This blue state's latest attack on free speech is awful and sneaky, too

New law forces lawyers to certify they won't share court data with immigration officials

By Jonathan Turley Fox News

Published April 8, 2026 5:00am EDT

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SCOTUS rules on Colorado conversion therapy ban, eyes birthright citizenship case

Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley and Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett discuss two high-stakes Supreme Court cases and Rep. Eric Swalwell's, D-Calif., controversial stance on releasing sensitive files on 'Hannity.'

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Colorado's tourism slogan, "it's our nature," has a menacing meaning for free speech advocates. Colorado is now arguably the most anti-free speech state in the union, pushing an array of measures attacking those with opposing social and political views. The irony is that the state has proved a bonanza for free speech with spectacular legal failures that reaffirmed rather than restricted the First Amendment. Now, the Democratic legislature and governor are back with new unconstitutional measures, including a requirement that lawyers not share information with federal immigration officials as a condition for filing with state courts.

Colorado legislators and judges have spent years attacking core free speech and associational rights. In the last election, the state attempted to strip President Donald Trump from the ballot with the support of a majority of its Democratic-controlled state supreme court. (The effort was later declared unconstitutional in a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court. Colorado could not even get any of the liberal justices to support its actions).

The state is responsible for the efforts to force business owners to create products celebrating same-sex marriages. That effort led to the Masterpiece Cake Shop case and then the 303 Creative case. Even after losing earlier efforts against Masterpiece Cake Shop owner Jack Phillips, the targeting of its owner continued for years. That litigation proved to be a tremendous victory for free speech.

Colorado has also been leading the fight to limit the speech and associational rights of professionals and parents on "conversion therapy." Recently, that effort led to another massive loss before the Supreme Court in Chiles v. Salazar,........

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