judicial department
-
Colorado judicial diversity leader Sumi Lee departs for governor’s office
—
by
Sumi Lee, the first person in Colorado – and potentially the nation – to lead judicial diversification efforts from within the judiciary itself, has resigned from her job to join the administration of Gov. Jared Polis. “I had a good experience working at Judicial, and I believe the Judicial Diversity Outreach program will continue to grow…
-
Oral arguments, caseloads and bad lawyering: Appellate judges and justices provide peek behind judicial curtain
—
by
Nearly all members of the Colorado Supreme Court and half of the judges on the Court of Appeals convened with attorneys on Friday to give a behind-the-scenes tour of the inner workings of the judiciary, and to voice concern about the escalating number of issues they are being asked to decide in appeals. The topics…
-
Colorado discipline commission accuses legal system’s discipline chief of illegal intimidation
—
by
The enforcer who oversees Colorado’s legal profession – the Attorney Regulation Counsel – last month told a member of the state’s judicial discipline commission that his law license and that of others on the panel could be in jeopardy for having allegedly made false statements to legislators about its cooperation problems with that office. In a letter…
-
‘Learn as you go’: Judicial branch previews life as rural county judge as vacancy deadline approaches
—
by
Diligence, demeanor and integrity required. Law degree optional. Those are the qualities the Ninth Judicial District is eyeing for a pair of vacancies in Rio Blanco County as it looks to recruit one or two new judges to handle misdemeanor criminal cases, low-dollar civil disputes and evictions, among other matters. “We wanna see someone who…
-
Divided state Supreme Court says judges cannot review discipline of judicial workers
—
by
In an extraordinary decision pitting one part of the state’s judicial branch against another part, the Colorado Supreme Court decided on Monday, by 4-3, that trial judges are not permitted to hear disciplinary appeals involving judicial employees – an option afforded to other government workers. The majority of justices believed the court system’s personnel rules made…
-
Colorado appeals court judges should not sit in judgment of Supreme Court justices: Discipline panel
—
by
Allowing judges from the Colorado Court of Appeals to stand in judgment over a Supreme Court justice accused of misconduct would be fraught with the appearance of impropriety and potential conflicts of interest. So says the state Commission on Judicial Discipline in a letter to a panel of legislators scheduled to take up a trio…
-
State Supreme Court wades into intra-judicial conflict over rights of employees
—
by
Colorado’s Supreme Court is being asked to decide whether judges have the power to review personnel decisions involving judicial employees, a rare case in which different parts of the judicial branch are arguing for opposite interpretations of existing rules. During oral arguments on Wednesday, the state’s justices heard that judicial employees are legally different from…
-
Judge tosses discrimination lawsuit of ex-state judicial employee
—
by
A Black woman who was terminated from her job with the Colorado Judicial Department in Arapahoe County failed to show that she was retaliated against, faced a hostile work environment or experienced discriminatory treatment based on her race, a federal judge ruled. Shontella Young worked for the probation department of the 18th Judicial District for…
-
State fraud hotline generates investigations that rarely see light of day
—
by
Colorado auditors have been investigating for more than two years whether fraud occurred at the Colorado’s Secretary of State’s Office when Wayne Williams headed it as an elected official. Williams, a Republican who lost his re-election bid for secretary of state in 2018 and is now an at-large Colorado Springs city councilmember, said he has…
