"Nobody's telling us what to do," former Colorado Supreme Court Judge Jean Dubofsky said.

However, one thing was clear: Activists wanted to know if Denver police had kept files on them.

The activists wanted to know if their files had been shared with other law enforcement agencies, what the judges might do with an estimated 3,400 intelligence files and what would be done in the future to prevent such questionable record-keeping from happening all over again.

Among those testifying were several CU professors, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Lawyers Guild. Each called the files that were sealed by Mayor Wellington Webb in March "spy files." Webb, in ordering judges to decide the fate of the files, said that Denver police misinterpreted their policy regarding which groups and individuals they should keep files on.

CU professors Ward Churchill and Glenn Morris, both of the American Indian Movement, testified on Tuesday night in the Denver courthouse.

"We need to call this what it is," Churchill said. "It's political intelligence gathering."

The ACLU also testified alongside anti-government activists like Rick Stanley, a gun-rights advocate who is running for U.S. Senate under the Libertarian Party.

Judges, who are expected to recommend to Webb what to do with the files, gave some early indications of what might become of the files.

Activists might be able to ask police if there were any files being kept on them, Dubofsky said, but another judge was less clear about the future of the files in the custody of Denver police.

"There might be some changes made," former District Judge Roger Cisneros said of the activists who testified.

The next step in the process, Former District Judge William Meyer said, is a closed meeting with Denver police. Judges declined to indicate when that meeting would take place. Dubofsky said only that sensitive information is the reason why the meeting should be closed.

The Denver Police Department issued a "Criminal Intelligence Handout" at the meeting. It included proposed changes that would place limits on the creation of files. The handout also proposed a tracking system for files.

Those who attended the meeting called the proposals too vague.

Sean McAllister of the National Lawyers Guild said the rules did little to ensure police accountability. Others said the rules gave police too much discretion.

So far, only a handful of the files have become public. Those in them expressed anger that the Denver police had labeled them "criminal extremists."

Anna Sampaio, an associate professor of political science at CU-Denver, was labeled a "criminal extremist" in the files because of her association with the Chiapas Coalition. Police files state that the group is dedicated to the overthrow of the Mexican government.

Sampaio said the group is "dedicated to a peaceful resolution" of the country's recent political turmoil in Chiapas, where indigenous peoples have fought for their rights against the Mexican government.

She told judges she travels to the country every six months to conduct research studies in her capacity with the University. Being included in the files, she said, could lead to misinterpretations by Mexico's immigration officials and the country's paramilitary, which she feared might share intelligence information with Denver police.

"It also compromises the security and safety of those I travel to see," Sampaio said.

Others have been named in the files.

Stanley was labeled a "criminal extremist" in a file he obtained from police in connection with a trial stemming from his arrest during a pro-gun protest.

Boulder man Mark Thompson, a member of the Chiapas Coalition, is also included in the files, as are a Catholic nun and members of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker peace organization.

Police branded all three "criminal extremist."

The ACLU has filed a class-action lawsuit in Denver District Court challenging Denver police for keeping the files on peaceful activists. The organization has also filed a suit to release suspected files on Morris, Denver activists Mark and Barbara Cohen and LeRoy Lemos.

At the hearing, Boulder resident Laurie Herndon read a letter to judges penned by Betty Ball of Boulder's Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center. Activists from the organization have sometimes joined protests in Denver.

Her letter asked judges to open the files kept on activists.

"We extol the virtues of living in 'the land of liberty' with 'freedom and justice for all,'" Ball wrote. "Actions in police agencies such as keeping secret files on people engaged in social activism and political dissent run counter to the very ideals and principles of which we are so proud, and to which we are so committed."