Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government.

A U.S. Senate committee advanced a judicial nominee from Colorado, plus a Montezuma County judge agreed to receive discipline for his misconduct that stops short of removal from the bench.

Senate advances Domenico

• The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to advance the nomination of U.S. District Court Chief Judge Daniel D. Domenico, who the president selected for an impending vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.

• After his confirmation hearing, Domenico responded to written questions from members of the committee. Among other things, Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., asked Domenico to respond to Colorado Politics’ reporting about his delays in providing justice to civil litigants and in addressing petitions from those alleging unlawful immigration detention.

• “I recognize that every habeas petition places a person’s liberty at issue and that custody imposes real hardship on petitioners and their families. That is precisely why such matters warrant priority, and why I have endeavored to resolve them as promptly as the circumstances of each case allowed,” Domenico responded. 

Judge disciplined

• Although the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline originally sought the removal of Montezuma County Court Judge Ian J. MacLaren for his instances of alleged misconduct, the parties agreed to a resolution just before MacLaren would have faced the first public disciplinary trial this month under the new system of judicial discipline.

• For exhibiting bias against a criminal defendant and invoking his title in the face of a boating citation, MacLaren will receive a public censure, a 90-day unpaid suspension starting today, and a requirement to receive further training/mentoring. The discipline commission will let the voters decide in 2028 whether MacLaren should retain his judgeship for another term.

• A three-member disciplinary panel accepted the resolution and will issue a formal order imposing discipline this month.

Heard on appeal

• The Colorado Supreme Court will decide whether lower-court judges properly applied its framework for deciding whose wishes should prevail in a dispute over the fate of a couple’s pre-embryos.

• The Court of Appeals concluded that the portion of Colorado’s equal pay law authorizing retaliation claims doesn’t require a plaintiff to allege sex discrimination was a factor.

In federal news

• The 10th Circuit’s administrative body upheld a judge’s dismissal of two misconduct complaints that a civil litigant filed against Colorado’s chief district judge and the chief circuit judge. The underlying order labeled the misconduct complaints a “litigation tactic.”

• The 10th Circuit made it more difficult for consumers to sue debt collectors and other entities that report credit information over inaccuracies contained in individuals’ credit histories.

• The 10th Circuit rejected a woman’s 10-year-long effort to undo a restraining order that prevents her from contacting or harassing the protected party.

• Because a trial judge only analyzed one of the three alleged instances of constitutional violations by Denver, the 10th Circuit ordered further analysis in one of many lawsuits over the police response to 2020 protests.

• The 10th Circuit clarified the narrow circumstances under which a landlord may be automatically liable for their employee’s harmful actions under the Fair Housing Act.

• Denver’s detox center didn’t violate a man’s rights by holding him against his will for 10 hours until he was completely sober, the 10th Circuit decided.

• By 2-1, the 10th Circuit upheld Colorado’s recently enacted fee on vehicle rentals, rejecting a challenge from the rental car industry.

• Immigration judge Bobbie C. Masters violated at least four federal judges’ orders last month when she denied bond to those in immigration custody without holding the government to its burden of proof.

• A judge rejected the ineffective assistance of counsel claims from the defendant who is serving a life sentence for murdering five people at Club Q in Colorado Springs.

• A judge dismissed the Mesa County sheriff’s challenge to a Colorado law limiting public employees’ cooperation with immigration authorities. The sheriff hadn’t shown that his office was doing anything that violates the law.

• A judge clarified that former GOP treasurer nominee Brian Watson will have a higher burden to prove defamation on his claim that a party guest called him “a criminal” two years ago.

• A federal judge declined to block the termination of a Denver employee who alleges she was deliberately targeted during layoffs.

Vacancies and appointments

• The governor has appointed 17th Judicial District Magistrate Rachel A. Catt to succeed retiring Denver District Court Judge Martin F. Egelhoff.

• There are three finalists to succeed retiring Lake County Court Judge John G. Scott: Braden Angel, Mary Christina Floyd, and John Edgar Mallonee.

• There are two nominees to succeed retiring Kit Carson County Court Judge Michael K. Grinnan: Jeffrey M. Cure and Kara L. Stevens.

• Applications are due by Aug. 17 to succeed retiring District Court Judge Juan G. Villaseñor in the Eighth Judicial District (Larimer and Jackson counties).

• The judges of Colorado’s U.S. District Court have reappointed U.S. Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter to an eight-year term and U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Candelaria to a four-year term in Durango.

Miscellaneous proceedings

• Nearly 300 people from 70 countries became new citizens during the first-ever naturalization ceremony at Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater.

• Under the leadership of Nga Vương-Sandoval, Colorado’s Judicial Officer Outreach Program has provided extensive virtual and in-person programming that allows current judges to speak to potential applicants about what the job is like.

• Opponents of a plan to reopen a Hudson prison for immigrant detainees have filed suit in state court.

• Colorado’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board has authorized an appeal of a federal judge’s injunction preventing the state from implementing price caps on arthritis medication.

• Jeffco Public Schools has sued the federal government in order to protect its funding in response to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education.

• Following the enactment of new state legislation, the judicial branch’s Jury Selection Working Group is seeking feedback from the public:

The working group will examine issues related to (1) the amount of time provided to attorneys to question prospective jurors during voir dire, (2) the use of questionnaires in selecting jurors, and (3) judicial rehabilitation of prospective jurors who have allegedly exhibited bias. The working group wants to hear from attorneys, judges, litigants, individuals who have served on juries, and other members of the public who wish to share ideas about how the state could improve its practices in these three areas.  

On break

• Because things will be a bit slower during the summer, Court Crawl will be published every other week during July and August.