Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Owenses can file in any county

Ex-guv, wife also can seek to seal divorce records

By Lynn Bartels, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 21, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

Text size  

More Airlines & Aerospace

More stories »

Former Gov. Bill Owens and his wife, Frances, who announced last week they are splitting after 33 years of marriage, live in Arapahoe County but can file their divorce in any county.

"It's typical for a divorce to be heard in a jurisdiction where one or both parties live, but it can be moved to another county if both parties agree," said Rob McCallum, spokesman for the State Court Administrator's Office.

The couple has said they are not commenting on their divorce as they are now private citizens.

Owens, a Republican, served as governor from January 1999 to January 2007. He and his wife were separated for nearly two years during that time.

The couple have never commented on what led to their separation.

Divorce records are public in Colorado, but the parties can ask for them to be sealed.

"There has to be a finding that the harm to the privacy of a person outweighs the public interest," said attorney Mike Feeley.

"It's a tough burden to meet. It's a fairly high standard, and there are lots of First Amendment considerations that suggest the public has a right to know what is happening in their courts."

The couple has three children. Two are adults, one in college, and the third is in high school.

bartels@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5327

Comments

  • January 21, 2008

    9:10 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Dhakala writes:

    The Rocky is really straining to make a story out of this divorce. It's not news that one can file in any county. Court papers do not have to explain why a divorce is happening. Let's leave the couple alone.