The state Parole Board routinely conducts public hearings in locations that aren't open to the public.

That practice means Coloradans can be sent back to prison for up to six months without any public oversight.

On Friday, a Rocky Mountain News reporter was denied access to a public hearing on a parole revocation for Dunston Sidner at the Denver Jail.

Parole Board Chairman Al Stanley readily conceded the hearing was legally open to the public. But by the time he could intervene, it was over.

Stanley said that many parole hearings are conducted in prisons and jails because that's where the prisoners are. Wardens can deny access to anyone, he noted.

In Jefferson and Arapahoe counties, where jails are near the courthouse, parole hearings are in public courtrooms, he said.

"They should abide by the law" and allow the public to attend, said Christie Donner, director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition.

Parole board staff members told the Rocky this week that a parole revocation hearing scheduled for Friday at the Denver jail would be open to the public, and no special arrangements were required.

But jail staffers refused to allow the reporter inside the locked gates without prior approval.

When contacted, Denver corrections director Bill Lovingier agreed the meeting was open to the public and informed his staff.

But parole board hearing officer Celeste C de Baca then refused to allow the reporter to attend, citing jail rules giving the defense attorney the right to refuse access.

Finally, Parole Board Chairman Stanley was tracked down. He called C de Baca to say the hearing was public.

By then, it was over.

Stanley said his staff members normally tell callers they must make prior arrangements to attend hearings in jails or prisons. But sometimes a warden refuses access, he said.

Stanley said he didn't know of anyone previously being denied access to a parole hearing.

But Donner said "it's very, very difficult" for the public to go to hearings in jails and prisons.

Sometimes they are simply refused by the jail staff. Sometimes, they run afoul of unpublicized dress codes, such as no skirts above the knee, she said.

imsea@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5438