Author: David Migoya david.migoya@gazettedev.gazette.com
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Senate rejects Colorado judicial discipline appointee while approving another
The Colorado state Senate on Wednesday rejected the reappointment of the chairwoman to the state panel that handles judicial discipline but narrowly kept its vice-chair. Needing 18 votes to confirm their reappointments to the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline, chairwoman Mindy Sooter came up two votes shy (19-16 against), while Jim Carpenter was approved by…
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Colorado Senate committee balks at governor’s judicial discipline nominations
In a bipartisan rebuke of how a years-long scandal has been handled, a Colorado Senate committee on Monday made the rare move of not approving the gubernatorial reappointment of the top two members of the state’s Commission on Judicial Discipline. Just months after voters statewide overwhelmingly chose to change how Colorado disciplines judges, the state…
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Federal probe of judiciary scandal in Colorado requested at hearing
The Colorado commission responsible for disciplining state judges on Monday revealed it had quietly dismissed an elaborate, voluminous and far-reaching anonymous complaint that alleged an ongoing judicial conspiracy to conceal years of misconduct. That decision came months after the former director of the Commission on Judicial Discipline said he had asked federal investigators to dive…
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Critics decry ‘black hole’ of oversight for code violations by appointed judges in Colorado
Colorado’s method of investigating and disciplining judges for alleged violations of its code of conduct doesn’t apply to retired jurists specially appointed to handle individual cases. Similarly, the state’s investigative arm that looks into allegations of attorney misconduct also has no jurisdiction over issues involving private judges, as they are known, outside of the same…
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Colorado bill limiting grocers from selling hard liquor passes, heads to governor next
Colorado’s independently owned liquor stores, reeling from voter-approved wine sales in grocery stores, landed a significant victory with the passage of a bill that stops more grocery stores with pharmacies from getting into the booze-selling game. Senate Bill 25-33, passed the full Colorado House of Representatives this week, 55-8, and now heads to Gov. Jared…
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Colorado judges made campaign contributions despite rules prohibiting the practice
More than a half dozen judges in Colorado — each of them specially appointed and paid to oversee a divorce case since 2019 — has made at least one political campaign contribution while serving in that capacity despite a prohibition against the practice and an affirmation to uphold it, The Denver Gazette has found. Colorado’s…
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Private judges suppress cases at greater rate than regular courts
Private judges hired to handle divorce cases in Colorado suppress them from public view at far greater rates than in cases that rely on district court judges, leaving some legal experts wondering whether affluent clients are simply buying their way into secrecy. The newspaper found that some private judges have suppressed cases nearly routinely, while…
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Colorado’s private, often secret justice system exclusively for the wealthy
For nearly two decades Colorado has quietly maintained two judicial systems: One that the public makes use of regularly, and the other a lesser known, almost secret variety relied on by the rich, famous and well-to-do. Specifically for civil cases — the criminal justice system is unaffected — the systems, on paper, are designed to be virtually identical…
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Bill to stop growing number of grocers from selling booze passes key House committee
Colorado’s independent liquor stores won a resounding victory Thursday as a state House committee unanimously approved a bill that would freeze any increase to the number of grocery stores selling hard booze. The House Business Affairs and Labor Committee passed Senate Bill 25-33 by a 13-0 bipartisan vote, virtually assuring a smooth path for legislation…
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Colorado liquor stores sue state over lack of license enforcement
Four independent Colorado liquor stores have sued the state, claiming that limits on the ownership of certain licenses aren’t being uniformly enforced and are unfairly — and illegally — benefiting those with hidden interests. The liquor stores — Heritage Wine & Liquor in Centennial, Applejack Wine & Spirits in Wheat Ridge, and Bevy’s Liquor World in Littleton…