A chronology of events leading up to Monday's ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court regarding the appropriate length of parole for certain sex offenders.

1977: The Legislature approves a law giving the Parole Board discretion to set the term of parole.

1979: The Legislature modifies the 1977 law, saying parole terms must be limited to the lesser of the unserved portion of the defendant's original prison term or five years.

1993: The Legislature approves tougher sentencing for sex offenders that requires five years of parole after a prison release.

1996: Lawmakers lengthen parole terms for sex offenders, but in an apparent oversight, use language from the 1979 law, essentially returning to discretionary parole terms to be determined by parole officials but not exceeding the maximum sentence imposed by the court.

1998: Lawmakers approve lifetime parole for sex offenders.

March 2, 2000: The Colorado Court of Appeals finds in an appeal filed by David Cooper that sex offenders could not be placed on parole for longer than their original prison sentence.

April, 2000: Under that decision, 18 sex offenders in custody for parole violations are released. Twenty-five are released from custody but not placed on parole after completing their prison terms, and 39 are released from parole.

Sept. 18, 2000: The Colorado Supreme Court rules unanimously in a case involving Vance Martin that the 1993 law conflicted with the 1979 law limiting how long sex offenders can be placed on parole. Prison officials begin planning to release sex offenders from prison and parole.

By Sept. 30, 2000: Nine of 112 sex offenders in custody for parole violations are released, and 84 are released from parole. Attorney General Ken Salazar halts further releases.

Oct. 1, 2000: Salazar says prison officials acted too quickly in releasing parolees without a court mandate. Corrections Chief John Suthers says he understood judicial review was just a formality.

Oct. 5, 2000: A district judge refuses to issue arrest warrants for nine offenders who were released.

Oct. 6, 2000: Salazar acknowledges his staff and corrections officials made a serious mistake by releasing the nine without seeking a court mandate. The Supreme Court agrees to reconsider its Sept. 18 ruling and orders Salazar to take no further action until justices issue a ruling.

Oct. 8, 2000: Eight of the nine offenders released from prison sentences imposed for parole violations are arrested.

Oct. 11, 2000: The ninth offender released from a prison term imposed for a parole violation is arrested.

Oct. 21, 2000: Authorities continue working to round up the sex offenders released from prison or parole in April who had not already been taken back into custody.

December, 2000: The state public defender files a brief with the Supreme Court arguing that parole terms for sex offenders who are released early from prison cannot be longer than the original sentence. He argues that lawmakers intended parole to be served instead of prison, rather than in addition to a prison term.

Jan. 10, 2001: Salazar asks lawmakers to strengthen sex-offender registration laws in preparation of the possibility that the Supreme Court would uphold its Sept. 18 decision, which he said could lead to the release from prison or parole of 1,600 offenders.

Feb. 15, 2001: A Pueblo district judge orders the release of one inmate who was sent back to prison after he was released because of the Supreme Court's decision.

Feb. 22, 2001: A different district judge in Pueblo orders the release of another inmate who was sent back to prison after having been released in September.

March 8, 2001: Three more inmates arrested after having been released in September are ordered released again by different judges. Salazar announces plans to appeal such releases.

March 13, 2001: The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the cases of five sex offenders affected by the September ruling.

June 25, 2001: The Supreme Court rules in favor of the defendants, ruling that parole terms for sex offenders who are released early from prison cannot be longer than the original sentence.