Just when it appeared that the attempts to spin the recent statement by Attorney General John Suthers that he would vote “NO” on retaining 3 of the 4 Colorado Supreme Court justices on the ballot this year (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) had finally run their course, yet another left-wing blog (titled, appropriately, Left Turn) attacked Suthers for having the temerity to speak his mind about our activist state Supreme Court.  The blog asserted:

Suthers’ statement aligns him with the conservative action group Clear the Bench Colorado, an organization dedicating ousting the four justices up for re-election in November. Its website describes our Supreme Court as “the most partisan in the nation” and the TABOR amendment is the second resource listed on its references page.

Although it is certainly true that “[w]hen the highest-ranking law enforcement official in the state says he thinks the highest justices in our state are not worthy of continuing in office, that’s big news,”  and we appreciate that greater attention is now being paid to the very important and serious issue of the Colorado Supreme Court judicial retention elections in November 2010, Clear The Bench Colorado did not take the AG’s statement as an endorsement (although he is certainly free to do so).

It is also telling that the blog’s listing of TABOR as “the second resource listed on its references page” is somehow meant to be a damning indictment of Clear The Bench Colorado - since TABOR is, after all, part of the Colorado Constitution that our state Supreme Court justices are sworn to uphold (which, by the way, is the FIRST reference listed).

Our response to the article (which has not yet been published on their site) follows:

The statement by Attorney General Suthers - criticizing 3 of the 4 sitting Colorado Supreme Court justices facing retention on principled grounds - brought increased attention to an extremely important issue. For too long, the statewide retention elections on our state Supreme Court justices have been a mere rubber-stamp, instead of providing the opportunity for Colorado citizens to “judge the judges” based on their adherence to the Colorado Constitution, which they are sworn to uphold.

The Colorado Constitution, by the way, is the FIRST reference listed on the Clear The Bench Colorado Resources & References page - the TABOR amendment to the Colorado Constitution is listed second. Although it is unfortunate that the Attorney General has apparently bowed to political pressure, he has been on record numerous times criticizing the decisions of the current Colorado Supreme Court majority on constitutional grounds - his recent statement that he would draw the obvious conclusion and vote against retention of anti-constitutional justices should NOT come as a great surprise.

Indeed, what IS surprising (and disappointing) is that more attorneys have not exercised their “societal duty to criticize the courts” where they are wrong - which is why it apparently takes a non-lawyer (and Soldier) to lead the fight for YOUR constitutional rights. Learn more about YOUR right to vote on these ‘unjust justices’ - and why your vote should be “NO” on retention this November - at the Clear The Bench Colorado website.

Exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority on this year’s ballot (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey). 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 the benefits of the rule of law, instead of rule by an oligarchy of activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Help to Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining these unjust justices this November!

The widely circulated alternative weekly Westword weighed in Friday with an article about the grassroots movement to hold the Colorado judiciary (particularly, the Colorado Supreme Court) accountable - and bring back balance to the bench - spearheaded by Clear The Bench Colorado.

Aside from not actually having used the word “bums” to describe the current majority on the court, the Westword article upheld the weekly’s high standard for investigative journalism and produced a very balanced and insightful look at the very important issue of the upcoming statewide retention elections for four of the current occupants of Colorado’s highest court (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey are all scheduled to be on the ballot this November).

Clear The Bench Colorado has been accused of being just another partisan shill or “judiciary haters” - by implication in the original Denver Post article on Tuesday (corrected in Friday’s edition), and outright in subsequent online attack pieces - but, as the Westword article points out,

“But Clear the Bench isn’t about Republican versus Democrat or even right versus left. It’s about holding our highest court accountable to their oath to uphold the Colorado constitution.”

Aside from a few minor semantic nitnoids (”military veteran” instead of “ex-military”, “recession” instead of “depression”), the Westword article presents an accurate picture of the purposes and motivations of Clear The Bench Colorado:

“I think our rules and our institutions are good ones, and I’m not advocating for direct election of judges,” Arnold stresses. “I think the intent behind our current system is to try to take some of the politics out of the judiciary branch, and that’s good. But it’s clearly failed to work, because we weren’t able to take the politics out. What we have is a bevy of justices on Colorado’s highest court who are substituting their personal agendas for the rule of law, and that damages all of us, irrespective to our political persuasion — and that has to stop.”

Regarding Suthers, Arnold was at the meeting where the attorney general made negative remarks about Mullarkey, Bender and Martinez, and he praises him for taking a stand.

“It’s a bold statement for the highest ranking law enforcement officer in the state to make,” he says. “And the fact that we’re talking about it shows it’s brought attention to the issue. People need to look at this seriously and do some research. This is an education campaign, because so few people are provided with any useful information on the judiciary.

“The judiciary has an inordinate amount of control over people’s lives — this court particularly,” he continues. “They’re grabbing as much power as they can. But this really is a nonpartisan issue. It’s about holding the judges accountable for their proper role as referees, not players.”

Take back control of your own life - 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 rule by an oligarchy of activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Help to Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your comments (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote on retaining these unjust justices this November!

At the close of a week dominated by news reports inserting partisan spin, additional partisan spin, misrepresentations, and ad hominem attacks, and yet more partisan spin and misrepresentations and finally a correction to the partisan spin surrounding the recent statement by Attorney General John Suthers that he would vote “NO” on retaining 3 of the 4 Colorado Supreme Court justices on the ballot (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) (whew, all that spinning is enough to make ya dizzy) it’s time for another dose of the Friday Funnies.

(Oh, sure, there was other news - something or other about an earthquake or major tectonic shift in Massachusetts - or was it Haiti? - and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on 1st Amendment rights, but this is clearly the big news in Colorado).

Apparently the Mullarkey Majority’s unconstitutional rulings have gone so far as to attract the attention of the parody/spoof site The Onion, which recently devoted their daily nationwide radio spot to ridicule the Colorado Supreme Court.

Wow - when The Onion singles you out for ridicule, you HAVE made the big time. 

Congratulations to Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and especially to Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey for making the Colorado Supreme Court a national laughingstock.

Get the last laugh on the Mullarkey Majority - Exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and - last not least - 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 rule by an oligarchy of 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 this November!

Earlier this week, the Denver Post published an article (AG Suthers may not back 3 on state Supreme Court) which put a partisan spin on the recent statement by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers that he intends to vote “NO” on retaining 3 of the 4 Colorado Supreme Court justices on the ballot (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey).

Much to their credit, the Denver Post (after a call to the editors) today issued a correction to those elements of the story that implied a partisan bias to the statement by AG Suthers and the position of Clear The Bench Colorado.  That correction, on page 2A of the print edition of the Friday, January 22 Denver Post, states the following:

A story Tuesday on Page 1B about the retention of Colorado Supreme Court justices should have made clear that the group Clear The Bench Colorado is nonpartisan.  Also, the story incorrectly reported that the group believes the court makes rulings that are favorable to Democrats.  It should have said the group believes the court has made unconstitutional decisions. [Ed. - PERIOD]

Kudos to the Denver Post editors for displaying the journalistic integrity to make the necessary correction.  This action demonstrates that it IS possible for citizens to insist on fair, unbiased reporting and hold ALL institutions accountable for their actions - from the mass media all the way up to the Colorado Supreme Court.

Unfortunately, since (as a modern, wired kinda guy) I no longer subscribe to the print edition of the newspaper, and didn’t immediately catch the correction to the online version of the story (since added), I bought the print version two days running to track it down - and in so doing, lost $0.25 to one of the Post vending machines.  So, Denver Post - kudos for the correction - but you owe me a quarter! 

Exercise YOUR right to hold our state’s top judicial institution (Colorado Supreme Court) accountable with your “NO” vote this November on the 4 ‘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 an oligarchy of 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 November 2010!

Political enemies of Attorney General John Suthers are attempting to use his recent principled (albeit uncharacteristically bold) statement that he would vote “NO” on retaining 3 of the 4 Colorado Supreme Court justices on the ballot (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, & Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) as a political club with which to rhetorically beat him.

Some of the more radical comments have gone so far to call for his impeachment.

For expressing an opinion?  Now there’s a fine respect for constitutional free speech rights…

Calling for the Attorney General to be impeached is likewise protected free speech (if more than a little bit silly), but many of the attacks have intentionally misrepresented the statement in order to score political points.  In other words, they lied.

One such intentional misrepresentation of the statement was advanced by state Senator Morgan Carroll - a Democrat, and therefore presumably a political enemy of Republican Attorney General Suthers.  In a recent blog post entitled “The Role of the Attorney General” Carroll asserted that the AG stated that

“he would not vote for retention for any of the Colorado Supreme Court Justices who were originally appointed by a Democrat.

The proper measure for retention of a judge is their judicial performance - not political party.  The Judicial Performance Commission makes these reports available on non-partisan criteria pertaining the experience of lawyers, parties and public with the Judges.

For the states highest law enforcement officer to call for a partisan purge and partisan stacking of the bench raises serious questions.

We need to protect the importance of this office to ensure that it does not get subverted to a partisan agenda on either side…”

Carroll’s polemic intentionally misrepresents both the AG’s statement and the rationale for his position, in a blatant attempt at partisan spin.  Suthers did NOT state that he “would not vote for retention for any of the Colorado Supreme Court Justices who were originally appointed by a Democrat.”  In fact, he stated that he would vote “NO” on 3 of the 4, and “yes” on the other (ALL Democrat appointments) on the basis of his perception of the constitutionality of their rulings, NOT partisan affiliation.  Accusations of a “partisan purge and partisan stacking of the bench” are knowingly false statements - perhaps the AG has grounds for a libel suit against Sen. Carroll?

We can assert with confidence that Carroll’s statement was knowingly false not only because she cited as the source for her attack the Post article  (AG Suthers may not back 3 on state Supreme Court) which, although itself containing some spin, accurately reported the AG’s statement.

We can also assert with confidence that Carroll knows the facts because we told her so - commenting on her post (which comment she refused to publish - OK, her site, her rules - CTBC also moderates comments, but allows both positive and negative comments to be published).  We afforded her the courtesy of waiting a day to respond; instead, she published only a comment favorable to her attack (calling for the AG’s impeachment).

Our response to Senator Carroll’s possibly libelous, certainly disingenuous statement:

Senator Carroll: Clear The Bench Colorado agrees with your statement that “The proper measure for retention of a judge is their judicial performance - not political party.”  Unfortunately, the Judicial Performance Commission reviews - despite the generally good intentions of the participants in the process - have NOT provided an effective, substantive evaluation of the performance of our courts, particularly at the highest levels.

The Denver Post article has done readers a disservice by casting the retention elections in partisan terms. This is absolutely NOT a partisan issue - we can (and apparently do) agree on that.  Rather, it is a matter of the justices upholding the Constitution and the rule of law (important to ALL parties).

Also, it is inaccurate to assert that the Attorney General stated that “he would not vote for retention for any of the Colorado Supreme Court Justices who were originally appointed by a Democrat.”  In fact, he stated that he would vote “NO” on 3 out of the 4 justices appointed by Governor Romer (and would vote yes on Justice Nancy Rice). The Denver Post article said as much.

We need to protect the importance of our highest court to ensure that is does not get subverted to a partisan agenda on either side. Unfortunately, at least 3 out of the 4 justices (CTBC would argue that it’s 4 for 4) have consistently displayed in their rulings that they endorse such a role for the judiciary.  This behavior should not be tolerated from our justices - vote “NO” on their retention in November 2010. Clear The Bench, Colorado!

Clear The Bench Colorado exists not to attack our institutions, but to defend them - including the “Missouri Plan” that mixes judicial appointments with retention elections, in a well-intentioned attempt to minimize politicization of the judiciary.  Unfortunately, the politicization of the Colorado judiciary has long since been perpetrated by the unconstitutional rulings and pursuit of personal agendas by the four ’unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who are facing the voters in this November’s retention elections.

Exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on the 4 ‘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 an oligarchy of 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 November 2010!

Demonstrating the axiom that “if you can’t win on the facts, attack the messenger”, the left-wing attack machine is coming out in force to spin, misrepresent, and attack Clear The Bench Colorado.

After months of attempting to pretend that the important matter of judicial retention elections for the Colorado Supreme Court is a non-issue and suppressing any mention of the existence of an organized campaign to educate Colorado voters on the subject, Denver Post reporter Lynn Bartels exploited the opportunity created by the admittedly bold statement by Attorney General John Suthers that he would vote “NO” on retaining 3 of the 4 Colorado Supreme Court justices on the ballot (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, & Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) to put a partisan spin on the AG’s statement, and misrepresented the status of Clear The Bench Colorado as a purely partisan organization.

To clarify: Clear The Bench Colorado is NOT “trying to rid the high court of most of its members” on merely partisan grounds.  Clear The Bench Colorado does not take the position “that the court is making unconstitutional decisions that favor Democrats” - Clear The Bench Colorado “maintains that the court is making unconstitutional decisions.” PERIOD.

Holding our state Supreme Court justices accountable to the people of Colorado, the Colorado Constitution (which they are sworn to uphold) and the rule of law in general is NOT a merely partisan issue.  It is NOT a matter of Democrat vs. Republican, Left vs. Right - but a matter of whether justices are fulfilling their proper function of being impartial referees instead of acting as partisan political “players.”

The Denver Post article’s spin is subtle, and the misrepresentations mild [Note: the Denver Post editors are upholding standards of journalistic ethics and integrity by issuing a correction to those portions of the article which implied a partisan bias to the Clear The Bench Colorado organization, and are to be commended] compared to the wild allegations, inaccurate attempted guilt-by-associations, and childishly ad hominem attacks (calling Clear The Bench Colorado “nutters” and “fringy perennials” is so mature and persuasive) perpetrated by the rabidly left-wing Colorado Pols blog.

The Colorado Pols article goes on to characterize Clear The Bench Colorado as “judiciary haters scorned by the legal world” - lifting a page from Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals” (13. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it), attacking the messenger while avoiding the merits of the message.

The comments by the radical fringe Pols subscribers descend into yet greater depths, starting with an outright lie (”This is bullshit Suthers clearly did not say he won’t support 3 of the justices - they’re putting words in his mouth. People like this give blogging a bad name - for shame”) [Ed.: Sorry, "DavidThi808", that's EXACTLY what he said - your lie gives blogging a bad name], projecting their own psychological issues (”The abject hate directed at most people who are not like them is huge”) and spewing  a scattering of insult, invective, and name-calling (”rabid ideology”, “if, somehow, they got their lame wish now, their juvenile actions won’t be forgotten”, “these creeps go after the judges”, etc.) - truly a fascinating glimpse into the “progressive” mindset.

The Colorado Pols “Fringy Perennials” piece is ably deconstructed in an article by Jimmy Sengenberger of SengCenter Radio fame on the Peoples Press Collective site; some excerpts:

In what one could claim is a sign of fear over the significant headway CTBC is making across Colorado, the…  folks at Colorado Pols left no doubt as to their irritation with the organization…

Never has there been a campaign of this kind run in the history of the state. … In fact, there has never been a campaign to convince Coloradans to actually “vote the rascals out.”  Prior to CTBC, all Coloradans had available as a resource were the recommendations of the State Commission on Judicial Performance that are found in the Blue Book every election. …

The reality is that this is a grassroots effort led by the people, not “Republican elitists” or “Big Elves” on loan from Santa’s Political Workshop of Perennially Fringy Politics, nor is it run by “judiciary haters,” but rather genuinely concerned citizens - citizens worried that their rights under the Colorado Constitution are being trampled upon by an overzealous Supreme Court.  And the number of citizens from throughout the state jumping on board the CTBC train are growing. …

Never before has there been so much stinky fodder on the matter, from the blatantly unconstitutional tax increases stemming from the railroading of TABOR to their rulings that the Supreme Court, not the legislature, is supposed to be the guide for properly allocating education funding and managing redistricting, along with a growing resume of constitutional violations.  The actions of the Mullarky Majority of the Supreme Court, in case after case after case, have been indefensible and in clear violation of the Constitution, if not outright disdain or ignorance of it. …

Judicial activists, liberal bloggers, and Democratic operatives can cry “fringy” and “extremist” all they want on the “Big Elves,” but the reality is that CTBC is a legitimate grassroots effort with a basis in the documented actions of the Supreme Court itself.  Nothing “fringy” or “hateful” about it, though I guess if you believe in constitutional government, maybe you are a little “perennial” in your desire to protect your constitutional rights.  But is that really such a bad thing?

Couldn’t have said it better myself, Jimmy.

Clear The Bench Colorado exists not to attack our institutions, but to defend them - including the “Missouri Plan” that mixes judicial appointments with retention elections, in a well-intentioned attempt to minimize politicization of the judiciary.  Unfortunately, the politicization of the Colorado judiciary has long since been perpetrated by the unconstitutional rulings and pursuit of personal agendas by the four ’unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who are facing the voters in this November’s retention elections.

Exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on the 4 ‘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 an oligarchy of 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 November 2010!

An interesting spin on some remarkable news…

After being scooped by The Business Word newsblog, State Bill Colorado, and Greenwood Village News, the Denver Post has caught up on reporting about an issue of extreme significance to Colorado voters.

An article in today’s Denver Post (AG Suthers may not back 3 on state Supreme Court) puts a partisan spin on a recent statement by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers on upcoming Colorado Supreme Court retention elections and the Clear The Bench Colorado movement to restore accountability to the judiciary and bring back balance to the bench…

Starting with the title (”may not back” vs. “will vote NO”), this article spins the remarkable news that “the highest-ranking law enforcement official in the state says he thinks the highest justices in our state are not worthy of continuing in office” away from reporting the facts.

(We appreciate and commend the fact that the reporter did quote this statement with reasonable accuracy).

Otherwise, the article gets a few things wrong, in an apparent attempt to spin the story into comfortably partisan territory and portray Clear The Bench Colorado as a purely partisan entity.

Let me make it clear: Clear The Bench Colorado is NOT “trying to rid the high court of most of its members” on partisan grounds.  Clear The Bench Colorado does not take the position “that the court is making unconstitutional decisions that favor Democrats” - Clear The Bench Colorado “maintains that the court is making unconstitutional decisions.” PERIOD.

Holding our state Supreme Court justices accountable to the people of Colorado, the Colorado Constitution (which they are sworn to uphold) and the rule of law in general is NOT a merely partisan issue.  It is NOT a matter of Democrat vs. Republican, Left vs. Right - but a matter of whether justices are fulfilling their proper function of being impartial referees instead of partisan political “players.”

Nor should “”The idea of sweeping four judges out at once” if they are all on the ballot be considered “radical and very disruptive” - voters have that right.

What’s “radical and very disruptive” is a state Senator suggesting that citizens exercising their rights to vote on 4 of our state officials - who wield immense power and influence over their lives - is somehow problematic. That view should be considered condescending, offensive, and downright insulting by every Coloradan who views him or herself as a citizen, not a subject.

Colorado voters can and should take the Colorado Supreme Court retention elections very seriously; they should do their homework, “judge the judges” based on their record, and then vote accordingly.  Clear The Bench Colorado respectfully disagrees with the Attorney General’s position on Justice Nancy Rice, based on the totality of her record (including support for the “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” property tax increase, the “Telluride Land Grab” eminent domain abuse case, and judicial usurpation of legislative authority in the 2003 redistricting case) but concedes that in her case, reasonable people may disagree on whether she should be retained (her dissent in the Lobato case was particularly well-reasoned, well-written, and argued in defense of the Constitution).

In the case of the remaining three justices facing a retention vote this year (Justice Michael Bender, Justice Alex Martinez, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey), the evidence is clear and overwhelming: they have repeatedly demonstrated a contempt for the Colorado Constitution and the rule of law and deserve a resounding “NO” vote in the November 2010 retention elections. As noted, the fact that the Colorado Attorney General - the state’s “highest-ranking law enforcement official” - has said as much is remarkable news, and should be given significant weight in considering how to vote in these critical elections this November.

Exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on the 4 ‘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 an oligarchy of 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 November 2010!

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!