Tag: Colorado Commission On Judicial Discipline
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San Miguel County judge intends to resign as discipline authorities seek alternate resolution
A San Miguel County judge and the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline informed a disciplinary panel last week that new information about the judge’s health has come to light suggesting further proceedings may not be appropriate, and the judge will instead resign from the bench. The Colorado Supreme Court suspended County Court Judge Sean K.…
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Panel member ejected from one judge’s discipline case, as second judge challenges protocols in his proceeding
One member of a panel adjudicating the misconduct allegations against a county court judge has been replaced due to her alleged non-responsiveness, at the same time a different county court judge is objecting to the intended protocols in his own disciplinary case. Following voters’ passage of constitutional Amendment H in November 2024, adjudication of serious…
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EDITORIAL: Judicial reform at a snail’s pace
There’s good news and bad news about protracted efforts to bring transparency and accountability to Colorado’s secretive and hidebound judiciary. The good news is that after years of investigative reporting by The Gazette and other media into allegations of top-level improprieties by those appointed to judge over us, Colorado voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure…
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Colorado panel to hold likely first-ever livestream of judicial discipline proceeding
A three-member panel assigned to adjudicate the misconduct allegations against a northeastern Colorado judge will livestream a status conference on Friday, for apparently the first time in the state’s history. On Nov. 25, the Colorado Supreme Court suspended District Court Judge Justin B. Haenlein, who presides in the 13th Judicial District of Morgan, Logan, Sedgwick, Phillips,…
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Colorado Supreme Court censures ex-Denver juvenile Judge Brett Woods for alcohol use, retaliation
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The Colorado Supreme Court censured former Denver Juvenile Court Presiding Judge D. Brett Woods on Monday for being intoxicated on the job and for firing an employee who first reported his problematic alcohol use five years ago. Woods was a judge on Denver’s freestanding juvenile…
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New insider complaint alleges widespread coverups in Colorado Judicial Department
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In an elaborate and precisely laid-out missive that stretches more than 330 pages — with better than 3,100 pages of additional exhibits — a complaint filed with three state commissions and the FBI alleges a far-reaching and ongoing conspiracy within Colorado’s judiciary designed to conceal years of alleged lying, retaliation and misuse of public funds that began…
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State trains judges about financial disclosure requirements weeks after dozens found not complying with law
Colorado’s Judicial Department last week offered two days of training to its more than 350 judges statewide on how to file personal financial disclosure reports, as well as asked the attorney general whether senior judges must also file the public documents just weeks after The Denver Gazette stories disclosed dozens had not. The training and…
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Judicial discipline commission wants former Supreme Court Chief Justice Coats censured for role in contract scandal
In an unprecedented flexing of its authority, the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline late Tuesday requested a public censure of former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan “Ben” Coats for his role in a multi-million dollar contract that was awarded to a former employee who faced firing. It is the first discipline ever requested by…
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Colorado Supreme Court justices knew about memo alleging misconduct 2 years before it became public
Colorado’s Supreme Court justices were generally aware of a memo containing allegations about judicial misconduct nearly two years before it was made public, according to testimony one of the justices gave in an unrelated federal lawsuit deposition. It is the first acknowledgment that the members of the court knew about the memo shortly after it…
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Filing seeks to release mother jailed for criticizing judge’s order terminating parental rights
An Arapahoe County mother of three has been incarcerated for more than nine months due to a “series of confusing and unconstitutional orders” that barred the woman from discussing with others or speaking out against a ruling terminating her parental rights, a court filing states. The orders came from former District Court Judge Natalie Chase,…