Clear the Bench Colorado

Merry Christmas from Clear The Bench Colorado!

In the spirit of the season today, no commentary or analysis on Colorado Supreme Court rulings that have taken money out of your pocket, eroded your constitutional rights, or usurped the powers of other branches of government.  No comparisons of the Mullarkey Majority to the Grinch Who Stole Christmas…

Matt and celebrity spokespup Nola (above) just want to wish everyone a happy time at their not-yet-seized-by-eminent-domain homes and a safe, painless drive in their FASTER-taxed cars to Grandma’s house (assuming she can still afford the increased taxes to live there, for now and in Christmas future).  Be merry and don’t think about taxes for now (although they’ll beat you up if you don’t hand it over).

Enjoy your Christmas present, but please act to save your Christmas future - exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on the four unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining these unjust justices in 2010!

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is appearing as the guest speaker at this Monday’s (21 Dec) Parker Breakfast Club meeting at the Tailgate Tavern (19552 E. Main Street, Parker CO) at 7AM.

Join Matt at Monday morning’s meeting to learn more about the Mullarkey Court’s repeated assaults on the Colorado Constitution, the resulting impact to your wallet, the degradation or outright elimination of YOUR constitutional rights, and what you can do about it.

Learn more about how - and why -  you can and should exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on retaining the four unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven Colorado Supreme Court “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining unjust justices in 2010!

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold joins Jimmy Sengenberger on his “Seng Center” radio show Thursday at 6PM (KRCX 93.9 FM or online at regis.edu/krcx) to discuss the Mullarkey Court’s repeated assaults on the constitutional rights of Colorado citizens.

If you missed the broadcast, check out the podcasted show online - shows are posted every weekend at www.SengCenter.com. 

Tune in to learn more about why you should exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on retaining the four unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your voice (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining unjust justices in 2010!

The hectic holiday season is upon us…

Clear The Bench Colorado made national news following Monday’s Colorado Supreme Court decision throwing out evidence gained in a case of identity theft by an illegal (er, “undocumented”) alien resident of Greeley, CO.  The Colorado Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, held that a lower court was correct in excluding evidence obtained via a search of multiple client records at a tax preparer credibly alleged to have knowingly and systematically aided and abetted identity theft and tax fraud on a grand scale.

Look for a more in-depth analysis of this case on this site in the very near future.

Meanwhile, Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold appeared on the Amy Oliver show (1310 KFKA, Greeley/Fort Collins) this morning (10:30 AM) to discuss the case for removing the ruling majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) on the Colorado Supreme Court in retention elections in November 2010.

Clear The Bench Colorado is also making appearances at multiple events this (Tuesday) evening:

Beginning at 5PM, the 10th Annual Bill of Rights Day Celebration in Loveland commemorates the adoption of the Bill of Rights - the first 10 Amendments added to the Constitution on December 15, 1791.  The event is co-hosted by the Loveland 912 Project and the Northern Colorado Tea Party (who also co-hosted the very well-attended and successful inaugural Candidate Search 2010 event on November 13th).  Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold will speak about the Mullarkey Court’s repeated assaults on the Colorado Constitution, the resulting impact to your wallet, the degradation or outright elimination of YOUR constitutional rights, and what you can do about it.

Beginning at 7PM, the CCM - Denver Chapter December Meeting begins at the CCU Beckman Center (8787 W. Alameda Ave, Lakewood Colorado) and will include a presentation by (hopefully not too-late-arriving) Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold about the Mullarkey Court’s repeated assaults on the Colorado Constitution, the resulting impact to your wallet, the degradation or outright elimination of YOUR constitutional rights, and what you can do about it.

Learn more about how - and why -  you can and should exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on retaining the four unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven Colorado Supreme Court “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining unjust justices in 2010!

Friday’s vote by the CSU System Board to institute a “weapons control policy” on campus - essentially, implementing a ban on legal concealed carry of firearms by licensed permit-holders - joins a similar ban by the University of Colorado Board of Regents as policies virtually certain to be legally challenged and ultimately decided by the Colorado Supreme Court.

The CU Regents ban on responsible and licensed concealed-carry has already been challenged by students from different CU campuses; although a lower court judge dismissed the case on a technicality, it is now winding its way through the appeals process, and will almost certainly end up before the Colorado Supreme Court for a final decision.

The CSU ban stands on even shakier legal grounds than the CU ban - which has survived so far solely on the basis of the University of Colorado’s unique charter in which the General Assembly granted its ELECTED Board of Regents autonomous authority over all operations of CU’s campuses.  (CSU does NOT enjoy a similar “special” status).  Any legal challenge to the CSU ban has strong legal merit based on the clear letter and intent of the statute authorizing statewide standards and universal application for concealed-carry permits:

18-12-214. Authority granted by permit - carrying restrictions.

  (1) (a) A permit to carry a concealed handgun authorizes the permittee to carry a concealed handgun in all areas of the state, except as specifically limited in this section. …  A local government does not have authority to adopt or enforce an ordinance or resolution that would conflict with any provision of this part. (emphasis added)

The ONLY hope for this clearly unconstitutional ban to withstand the inevitable legal challenge - and the ongoing legal challenge to the CU ban - is if the Colorado Supreme Court refuses to follow the law (certainly not impossible, given the predilections of the Mullarkey Majority which dominates the 7-member court).

Fortunately, friends of liberty and the constitutional right to keep and bear arms can “head ‘em off at the pass” in November 2010 by voting to REMOVE FOUR of the most anti-constitutional justices on the Colorado Supreme Court (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) BEFORE the challenge comes to a final resolution before the court.

Freedom isn’t Free - Defend YOUR Constitution, and exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on retaining the four unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining these unjust justices in 2010!

So much for constitutionally mandated separation of powers and “checks and balances…”

A recent editorial on the Colorado Legislature’s “Long Term Fiscal Stability Commission” (a 16-member group dominated by big-government advocates thinly disguising yet another attempt to eviscerate - or outright eliminate - the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, TABOR) brought to light a troubling attempt to bypass the rules which normally apply to amending the Colorado Constitution:

Along a party line vote, the commission invented a third way to amend the Colorado constitution.

Assuming the 2010 General Assembly passes the legislation, Colorado voters would decide a measure to create a 19-member commission to address fiscal policy, defined as expenditures and revenue only, in the state constitution and submit one or more proposals to voters in 2012. The commission would have direct access to the ballot without signatures, and any measures it may propose would be exempt from the single-subject rule.

Commission members will be appointed, with six from the Governor, three from the senate president, three from the senate minority leader, three from the speaker of the house, three from the house minority leader, and one from the chief justice of the state supreme court.

This idea is troubling for several reasons. First, the makeup of the commission includes an appointment from the chief justice of the state supreme court, which seems to cross the line of separation of powers. Two, the legislature hand picks commissioners who are unelected and unaccountable to voters. Third, the commission has the authority to bypass citizens and single-subject requirements.

It’s bad enough that the Mullarkey Majority on the Colorado Supreme Court frequently takes the opportunity to re-write the Colorado Constitution by creatively re-defining terms (such as “General Assembly“, “tax policy change“, or “fees” vs. “taxes”)  in ruling on cases brought to the court for a decision - but allowing the Chief Justice to hand-pick someone to re-write the Constitution directly?  That IS “troubling.”

The Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice already wields enormous power (not even counting several recent power grabs and usurpations of legislative authority), both directly (from the bench) and indirectly through powers of appointment - most prominently, appointing FOUR (of a total eleven) members of the Reapportionment Commission which will re-draw Colorado legislative district boundaries following the 2010 Census.

The current Chief Justice (Mary Mullarkey) has repeatedly shown that she cannot be trusted to fairly and impartially wield such power.  Her opinions and rulings have arrogantly substituted a personal agenda instead of following the Constitution; she has been actively and unrelentingly hostile to TABOR (the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights - Article X, Section 20 of the Colorado Constitution that she is sworn to uphold).

“TABOR… is the only line of defense between working families’ wallets and a massive increase in government spending…  Allowing citizens to vote on how much government they want and how much they are willing to pay for it” is the core of TABOR, without which those in government - such as the unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority - would recognize NO LIMITS on their power and authority to take whatever they want, in pursuit of whatever goals they want; with YOUR money.

Freedom isn’t Free - Defend YOUR Constitution, and exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on retaining the four unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining these unjust justices in 2010!

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is appearing as the guest speaker at this Wednesday’s (2 Dec) Boulder County Breakfast Club meeting at the Longmont IHOP at 7AM.

Join Matt at Saturday morning’s meeting to learn more about the Mullarkey Court’s repeated assaults on the Colorado Constitution, the resulting impact to your wallet, the degradation or outright elimination of YOUR constitutional rights, and what you can do about it.

Learn more about how - and why -  you can and should exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on retaining the four unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven Colorado Supreme Court “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining unjust justices in 2010!

As the Colorado Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee meets this week to “review agency budgets in advance of the 2010 General Assembly” (and you thought your wallet and property were only at risk while the legislature is IN session), last year’s Colorado Supreme Court ruling upholding the blatantly unconstitutional “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” is back in the news:

In 2010, the JBC will consider both budget and tax policy — the latter a result of the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision last year in Mesa County Bd. of County Comm’rs v. State of Colorado.
Because of the opinion, which redefined the phrase “tax policy change,” state lawmakers are now free to increase state revenue by more than $2 billion by repealing tax credits and exemptions most had considered untouchable under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR. It’s expected that the JBC will play a leading role in which corporate- and sales-tax exemptions to keep and which to kill. (Related reading: A Chink In TABOR’s Armor: Mill-Levy Ruling Reverberates Widely)

As Clear The Bench Colorado has noted for months, the Colorado Supreme Court ruling did more than just lock in an upwards ratchet on property taxes with the “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” ruling - it also opened the door to millions - even billions - in new taxes on the hard-pressed citizens of Colorado by eliminating long-standing constitutional protections for a long list of existing tax credits and exemptions, allowing the legislature to impose what are in effect substantial new taxes without a vote of the people, as has been required under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR.

Just for “fun” - try the “New Tax Lottery” - brought to you courtesy of the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling upholding “Backdoor Bill” Ritter’s “Mill Levy Tax Freeze”. (View the list, then take the survey).

Outraged?  You should be - and the Mullarkey Majority on the Colorado Supreme Court is primarily to blame, for blatantly disregarding constitutional limits and undermining the rule of law.

Fortunately, in the coming election year (November 2010), We The People have a constitutional remedy already in place: exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on retaining the four unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey herself).  They need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy rights and benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.” DON’T GIVE IT TO THEM!  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote as these unjust justices stand for retention in Nov. 2010!