On Thursday, January 19, 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court adopted a new discipline rule regarding justices.
The new Rule 41, entitled “Proceedings Involving a Current of Former Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court,” requires that in circumstances in which that proceedings involve a current or former Justice, the entire Supreme Court shall rescue itself, and a special tribunal composed of the seven Colorado Court of Appeals Judges shall replace the SC for the limited purpose of exercising any authority conferred by law to the SC.
The filing states:
“The Special Tribunal shall replace the Supreme Court in the following circumstances:
The special tribunal shall replace the Supreme Court in the following circumstances:
(1) When the proceeding involves a complaint against a current or former Supreme Court justice
(2) When a current or former Supreme Court justice is a complainant or material witness in the proceeding
3) When a staff member of a current Supreme Court justice is a complainant or material witness in the proceeding:
4) When a family member of a current Supreme Court justice is a complainant or material witness in the proceeding
5) When any other Circumstances exist due to which more than two Supreme Court justice have recused themselves from the proceeding”
With the approval of this new rule, it was stated in an article dated January 21, 2023, that the Commission recommended replacements from a pool that includes district court judges. Moreover, the approval of this new rule just took days after the Colorado Supreme Court made a public testimony involving seven justices that they are required to step down from many misconduct inquiry that involves them or a former member of the court.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
