Colorado’s chief justice acknowledges “inadequacies” in state’s system for disciplining judges

Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright of the Colorado Supreme Court addresses an auditorium full of students at Pomona High School before he and the other six members of the court hear two cases at the high school on Oct. 26, 2021 in Arvada. The visit is part of the Colorado Judicial Branch’s “Courts in the Community” outreach program.

By Shelly Bradbury

Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian Boatright on Thursday acknowledged “inadequacies” in the state’s system for disciplining judges and said he welcomed reform while stopping short of fully supporting the current effort by lawmakers to remake the system.

“From everything I am aware of, I think judicial discipline works,” Boatright said, adding later, “I don’t think the system is broken. But with that said, I am completely supportive of looking at any reforms that would make the system better.”

During a public hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, Boatright listed several concerns with the bipartisan bill, SB22-201, which aims to reform the state’s system for disciplining judges who violate ethical and professional rules. The measure was introduced Monday by Sen. Pete Lee, D-El Paso County, Sen. Bob Gardner, R-El Paso County, and Rep. Mike Weissman, D-Arapahoe County.

Boatright has publicly said he and the state Supreme Court support the reform effort, but he and Justice Monica Márquez also personally lobbied lawmakers over concerns about the bill and its timing, The Denver Post found. Boatright sent an email Wednesday to judges across the state in which he said the bill has “serious flaws.”

The reform bill aims to give the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline more independence from the Colorado Supreme Court and would also create a special committee to consider how to best overhaul the judicial discipline system.

The bill follows reporting by The Post on an alleged blackmail scandal within the Colorado Judicial Department in which a top administrator allegedly threatened to make judges’ unaddressed misconduct public unless she was given a $2.75 million contract.

“The public will not have faith in a system in which those charged with assessing misconduct of judges are overseen by judges, where judges screen all complaints against judges and select which complaints move forward for investigation,” Lee said Thursday. “If the judges control the budget, the rules, the appeals, the outcome, the system is at best suspect and at worst fundamentally flawed.” (Click to continue reading)

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Colorado’s chief justice acknowledges “inadequacies” in state’s system for disciplining judges