On Monday, January 13, 2025, Colorado Politics reported that the Judicial Department of Colorado has disbursed over $155,000 in settlements following the misconduct of two trial judges who faced public discipline from the Colorado Supreme Court in 2024. The financial settlements were paid to former employees and their attorneys as a result of misconduct allegations against the judges.
The first case involves former Arapahoe County District Court Judge John E. Scipione, who was publicly censured by the Supreme Court last May. The court’s censure addressed several serious allegations, including Scipione’s failure to disclose a personal relationship with a staff member, inappropriate discussions regarding his sexual preferences in the workplace, and attempts to influence a court case outside his jurisdiction. The Supreme Court noted that two sexual harassment claims related to Scipione’s behavior resulted in settlements totaling $130,000.
Colorado Politics acquired the settlement agreements from the judicial branch, which revealed that two employees from the 18th Judicial District received compensation to circumvent the costs and uncertainties of litigation. Although the agreements did not explicitly name Scipione, legal representatives for the Office of the State Court Administrator confirmed that the settlements were indeed linked to his misconduct.
One of the settlements was signed in February 2023, involving a former law clerk who received $65,000, while her attorneys were awarded an additional $20,000. The second agreement, reached between May and June 2023, involved a judicial assistant who was compensated $13,317.76 in back pay and an equal amount in compensatory damages, with her attorneys receiving $18,364.48. Due to their status as whistleblowers in a judicial disciplinary context, the identities of these employees remain undisclosed in compliance with Colorado’s open records law.
The former law clerk, described as a young attorney in Denver, has expressed concerns that the case may negatively impact her career prospects within the small legal community. According to her attorney, Deborah Yim, the situation has taken an emotional toll on her client, who is now attempting to move forward.
In the disciplinary documents available to the public, the allegations against Scipione included unwelcome remarks made to his law clerk, wherein he commented on her physical appearance and discussed his “swinger lifestyle” with his wife. He also allegedly made inappropriate comments to his judicial assistant regarding his personal life.
As part of the disciplinary actions, Scipione acknowledged that he violated several provisions of the code of conduct, which mandate compliance with the law, integrity in conduct, and a prohibition against sexual harassment.
The second judge involved, former Denver Juvenile Court Presiding Judge D. Brett Woods, was censured in December for being intoxicated while on duty and for retaliating against an employee who reported his alcohol use five years earlier. In September 2019, the judicial branch reached an agreement to allow the employee, who served as the juvenile court’s clerk, to resign in exchange for a payment of $25,190.40, covering 12 weeks of pay and benefits. This settlement released the judicial branch from any further legal claims.
According to disciplinary filings, the clerk had suspected Woods of being under the influence of alcohol at work since her hiring in 2017. After reporting her concerns to her supervisors, the allegations were relayed to Woods himself—a practice that is now prohibited. Woods had initially sought to terminate the clerk, claiming the allegations were false. However, he later admitted that the clerk’s concerns were valid and acknowledged that he was sometimes impaired by alcohol during work hours.
The documents indicate that for several years, no other staff members formally reported similar concerns about Judge Woods due to fears of retaliation. Woods has since admitted to violating the code of conduct by taking retaliatory actions against the reporting employee.
Source: Colorado Politics
