(Note: this article was originally written for, and published by, the monthly ”A Line Of Sight“  news/commentary newsletter which appeared on Tuesday, 17 November)

Last month’s A Line of Sight profiled Mark Hillman’s excellent article describing the Colorado Supreme Court’s latest “power grab”.

In an audacious power grab, the Colorado Supreme Court recently embraced, by a 4-3 decision, a judicial doctrine that would relegate the other two branches of government — and the voters — to a perfunctory role.

The high court’s activist majority used Lobato vs. State not only to intrude on the legislature’s constitutional authority to determine funding for public schools; it also self-servingly suggested that no policy decision is off-limits to judicial review.

So much for separation of powers, consent of the governed, or checks and balances. In fact, the Lobato ruling leads to the obvious question: “What’s left to check or balance the court?”

Unfortunately, this latest ruling is only the most recent in an ever-increasing “long train of abuses and usurpations” perpetrated by the Mullarkey Court against the Colorado Constitution (and, more to the point, against the constitutional rights of Colorado citizens).  The Mullarkey Majority on the Colorado Supreme Court (Justices Michael Bender, Greg Hobbs, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) have abandoned their proper role as impartial referees sworn to uphold the rule of law. They have taken it upon themselves to usurp the power and authority of the other branches of government (executive and legislative), denying the basic rights of the people themselves.

The Mullarkey Majority has been consolidating power – lately, the power to tax (“Mill Levy Tax Freeze” and “fees aren’t really taxes” cases) and to decide policy on spending (Lobato school funding case). This ever-increasing consolidation of power violates Colorado’s separation of powers, resulting in a single branch of government – an unelected judiciary – becoming the Supreme power in the state.

Fortunately, there IS an existing remedy for the people to check this out-of-control Supreme Court, restore accountability to the judiciary, and bring back balance to the bench.  Our unelected judges – even Supreme Court justices – are NOT unaccountable to the people.  Although (in contrast to many other states) Colorado does not elect judges, in a well-intentioned attempt to remove partisan politics from the judiciary, Colorado’s Constitution explicitly reserves the power and the right to hold judges accountable to a vote of the people in periodic retention elections – for Supreme Court justices, every ten years.

These regularly scheduled retention elections – phrased in the form of a ballot question, “Should Justice X be retained in office?” answered with a simple “yes” or “NO” vote – are the only check or balance to the otherwise unrestrained power of Colorado’s Supreme Court justices.

Our system in Colorado is a good one; our institutions (and our Constitution) are worthy of defense.  However, some of the current occupants of the Colorado Supreme Court have shown themselves to be unworthy of their office.  They have politicized the judiciary, substituting their own agenda for the clear letter of the law and our Constitution.  In so doing, they have undermined the rule of law (and respect for the courts).  We The People can – we must – hold them accountable.

Vote “NO” on these unjust justices in 2010 – restore respect and accountability to our judiciary and help bring back balance to the bench.

To learn more about the outrageous rulings of the anti-constitutional, out-of-control Mullarkey Court, visit Clear The Bench Colorado and support the grassroots campaign to restore respect and accountability to our judiciary, and bring back balance to the bench, with your voice (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining unjust justices in 2010!