Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is the featured guest speaker at the Colorado Springs Candidate Search 2010 Forum this Tuesday (9 March) at the Mr. Biggs Family Event Center (I-25 & Nevada).  Doors open to the general public at 5:00 PM for meeting and mingling, and the speeches and debates begin at 6:00 PM.

[UPDATE: Video from the event, posted by "theusrepublic" on WittySparks]

The event will also feature candidates for Colorado Governor, State Treasurer, and U.S. Senate.

This event provides an opportunity for you to learn more about the candidates asking for your vote in statewide elections this year (primaries are in August, general election is 2 November).

The grassroots, nonpartisan organizations sponsoring and hosting this event are:

Take the opportunity to learn more about why the MOST important votes you can cast in this very important election year are four “NO” votes on the unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority on the Colorado Supreme Court - and get to know more about the candidates for those other offices, too.

Become an informed citizen; conduct your own evaluation of ANY official (including judges) asking for your vote, based on how (and whether) they follow the Constitution and uphold the rule of law.  Armed with information, Yes, you can exercise your right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (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 home and business from seizure by rapacious governments, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, instead of suffering under rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!) and your contributions - and vote “NO” on retaining these unjust justices in the upcoming November elections!

A recent article in The Business Word newsblog quoted a statement by Colorado’s Attorney General John Suthers on how he intends to vote in the upcoming retention elections for the Colorado Supreme Court.  As the state’s top law enforcement official, the Attorney General’s statement carries significant weight, and is remarkable for taking such a strong stand.

Colo. AG John Suthers will vote no on justices Mary Mullarkey, Alex Martinez, Michael Bender

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers this morning said he will vote no on three of four state supreme court justices who are up for retention in November’s elections and yes on Justice Nancy Rice.

Suthers will vote against retaining Chief Judge Mary Mullarkey and judges Alex Martinez and Michael Bender, he told the Arapahoe County Republican Men’s Club breakfast at the Cool River Cafe in Greenwood Village. Most Republicans are supporting the effort to deny retention of all four justices who are up for retention.

Although Attorney General Suthers falls somewhat short of endorsing the non-retention of ALL of the four Colorado Supreme Court justices who are up for a retention vote this year, his strong endorsement of a “NO” vote for 3 out of 4 sitting justices is remarkable.  As the state’s top official with specific responsibility to “represent and defend the legal interests of the people of the State of Colorado and its sovereignty” his statement is a clear condemnation of the disregard for the “legal interests of the people” demonstrated time and again by the Mullarkey Majority on the Colorado Supreme Court.

In the case of Justice Nancy Rice, Clear The Bench Colorado continues to take the position that, on balance, she has not consistently met the high standards of excellence we should have the right to expect from the justices on our highest court, although she does on occasion demonstrate flashes of excellent jurisprudence (her dissent in the Lobato v. Colorado case, for example, was superbly written and argued, demonstrating a depth of insight and respect for the rule of law that should be the norm).  Although reasonable people may disagree with our conclusions, we believe that an objective review of Justice Rice’s rulings on a number of key, constitutionally significant cases still supports a “NO” vote on her retention in office in the November 2010 elections.

Attorney General Suthers was particularly clear in his condemnation of Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey:

Mullarkey is widely despised by Colorado’s Republicans because she and the other four justices are so blatantly partisan in deciding politically controversial cases. If Mullarkey is retained as chief justice this year, next year she will appoint four members of a commission that will redistrict the state. And she will appoint the most reliably Democrat partisans she can find. She and her court also have blatantly supported unconstitutional increases in fees and taxes that have been enacted under Democrat Governor Bill Ritter without having the tax and fee increases taken to voters as required by TABOR.

However, Clear The Bench Colorado  must take issue with the conclusion of the otherwise excellent article:

Of course, if the justices have to be replaced, their removal will mean something only if a Republican is elected governor this year.

This statement could not be more wrong - on several levels.

Granted, Republicans DO have a strong motivation to remove these Colorado Supreme Court justices who are not only activist, but openly partisan in many of their rulings and statements.  They have inserted themselves into the political process on multiple occasions, consistently on the side of one-party rule in this state.  The extreme partisanship of the ruling majority, and the Chief Justice in particular, becomes even more significant in light of the extensive power exerted by the court in the (state-level) reapportionment and (Congressional) redistricting that will occur following the 2010 census.  That power will be decisive regardless of who holds the governor’s office - even if Republicans win, but DON’T Clear The Bench, they will still lose in reapportionment (6-5) AND redistricting (in the inevitable court case, as occurred after the 2000 census in the Salazar v. Davidson redistricting case).

However, although the partisan nature of these ‘unjust justices’ is part of the problem, it is by no means the only problem - or even the worst of it.  The unjust justices of the Mullarkey Majority have undermined the rule of law and damaged our judicial institutions by repeatedly and blatantly disregarding the clear letter and intent of the Colorado Constitution - which they are sworn to uphold.  They have forsaken their proper role as “referees” in favor of becoming “players” in order to advance a personal agenda - which is not what we should expect (what we should demand) of a good judge.  Voting “NO” on these unjust justices in November 2010 not only removes these particular ”bad judges” from office, but sends a powerful message that We The People can and will hold the judicial branch accountable to their oath and proper function of upholding the law and our constitutional rights.

Finally (for the less high-minded among us), the Mullarkey Majority has repeatedly aided and abetted the unconstitutional seizure of property through eminent domain abuse, increase of property taxes, elimination of tax credits and exemptions, and imposition of taxes disguised as “fees” (most notoriously the FASTER  car tax - er, registration “fee” increase) that hits each and every one of us deep in the wallet.  Put simply, they are accomplices to legalized theft.

Don’t let them get away with it!  Exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (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, instead of suffering rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Please help support Clear The Bench Colorado with your own comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining these unjust justices in 2010!

A recent report by Americans For Prosperity Colorado (Colorado in Transition: Killing the Golden Goose - A Report on Colorado’s Economic Future)

“says Colorado is only one generation away from a California-type fiscal crisis, thanks to what it calls excessive taxation, uncontrollable spending and an environment hostile to job growth.“

According to the Denver Post, the report “laid almost all the blame on Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter and the Democratic-controlled legislature.”

As usual, the Post doesn’t quite get the facts straight.

In the Post’s ongoing campaign to ignore the culpability of the Colorado Supreme Court in Colorado’s fiscal woes (and attempts to bury news about the Clear The Bench Colorado campaign to hold the unjust justices of the court accountable to the Colorado Constitution and the rule of law), the report’s frequent mention of “[r]ecent court decisions…” undermining the “biggest factor in protecting Colorado’s tax and spending climate from outside political pressures and runaway growth” (TABOR, the Taxpayers Bill of Rights) is left completely unremarked (fulfilling the Post’s unofficial mission of filtering, rather than reporting, the news).

In fact, the report specifically mentions the “Colorado Supreme Court’s decision to approve an increase in property tax rates without a vote of the people” as THE greatest single threat to “TABOR’s heretofore straightforward protections.” (p.6)

The report recommends a number of “[s]pecific proposals policy-makers should consider”, with several directly reversing actions of the Colorado Supreme Court, such as “reaffirming TABOR’s requirement that tax hikes be approved by voters” and acting to “rein in tax hikes masquerading as fees…” (p.7)

The definition of a fee has been abused.  Many of these so-called fees are nothing more than tax hikes in disguise. During the 2009 legislative session alone, hundreds of millions of dollars in new fees were proposed and contemplated by the legislature. One, increasing vehicle registration fees by an average $41 per vehicle per year, was passed and signed by Governor Ritter. At $250 million per year, this “fee” will raise far more in new revenue than is warranted by the cost of administering the vehicle registration and licensing program. As such, it is really a tax increase. (p.21)

The Post article falsely characterizes the report’s summary of the increased cost of “vehicle registration fees” (Colorado Car Tax) as an “error”, asserting that the “fee increase is for only three years and in the third and final year the average Coloradan will pay $41 extra” (total).  This assertion is uninformed at best, disingenuous at worst - the “fee” increases have already cost the average Coloradan $40-$50 extra in the first year of increases alone - as other (less-biased) journalists have reported, “the pain of FASTER is just beginning.”

Further addressing transportation policy, the AFP report notes that

“the number of dedicated sources for transportation funding has dropped by three with the repeal of Arveschoug-Bird and the elimination of the Senate Bill 1 (1997) and House Bill 1310 (2002) diversions. Gas tax revenues, car registration fees, and drivers license revenues remain, but with the 2009 passage of Senate Bill 228 dedicated transportation funding from the General Fund is cut.” (p.9)

The culpability of the Colorado Supreme Court in eliminating “dedicated sources for transportation funding” is less direct, but equally important.  The General Assembly’s unconstitutional repeal of the Arveschoug-Bird 6% limit on General Fund spending growth with SB228 has NOT yet been challenged in court because, so long as the Mullarkey Majority controls the Colorado Supreme Court, “the fix is in” - no challenge, despite the legal merits, has any prospect of success before this agenda-driven court.

Other policy areas addressed by the report include Colorado’s Civil Justice Environment - with “the most important improvements Colorado should pursue” starting with:

1. The selection of sound judges: Ensuring fairness and predictability in civil justice necessitates good laws and good interpreters of the law. Outcome-based judicial decisions (rendering verdicts based on what the judge thinks the outcome should be instead of what the law says it should be) significantly jeopardize the stability and predictability of the tort environment. Instead of activist judges, the Governor should work to appoint judges committed to the philosophy of judicial restraint. (p.29)

What makes a good judge? was one of the first issues addressed by Clear The Bench Colorado.

The report also notes that the Ritter administration (and Colorado General Assembly) policies and legislation have increased the cost of health care in Colorado (above and beyond the massive pending Federal legislation) by (what else!?) imposing additional “fees” on insurance companies “by $13 million in 2009 and $30 million in 2010 with the approval of House Bill 1390” (p.33) - costs that will be passed on to Colorado consumers, courtesy of the Colorado Supreme Court ruling enabling the proliferation of “fees” to circumvent TABOR.

Finally, the report also recommends that Colorado “[t]ighten up laws regarding government condemnation of private property” (p.69) to defend Colorado citizens against eminent domain abuses (expanded by yet another Colorado Supreme Court ruling undermining our legal and constitutional protections, the “Telluride Land Grab” case).

The report is well worth reading in its entirety - but as this article (hopefully) makes clear, the Colorado Supreme Court is inextricably involved in “Killing the Golden Goose” of Colorado’s economic prosperity.

Don’t let your own goose get cooked! 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, instead of suffering rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Please help to support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining these unjust justices in 2010!