Clear The Bench Colorado was at the forefront of the opposition to the unconstitutional “Dirty Dozen” tax increases passed by the Colorado Legislature at the start of the session - testifying before the House and Senate Finance Committees that the tax increases were violations of the rights of Colorado citizens under the Taxpayers Bill of Rights to be consulted (by vote) before being subjected to more or higher taxes, despite an interpretation of the Colorado Supreme Court ruling in the “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” case that the requirement to ask first could be ignored.

Among the worst of the “Dirty Dozen” tax increases from both a constitutional and policy perspective was the internet sales tax (or “Amazon Tax”) House Bill 10-1193: Sales Tax Out of State Retailers (Pommer/Heath) - which not only violates the Colorado Constitution (Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights), but also the U.S. Constitution’s 4th Amendment protection against unreasonable searches & seizures, as we stated in testimony before the Colorado Senate Finance Committee prior to the bill’s passage into law:

This bill also presents a constitutional challenge of a different kind – issues of invasion of privacy. Collecting information on every online purchase of Colorado citizens in attempting to enforce this tax will justly provoke extreme outrage. It will also inevitably provoke a host of legal challenges based on 4^th Amendment protections.

Amendment 4
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

We advised the committee that constitutional challenges to this law were practically inevitable, and stood a very good chance of success, even before the frequently anti-constitutional Colorado Supreme Court.  We also advised the committee that citizens would be justifiably outraged by the intrusion into their private affairs since the only way the state could hope to enforce the tax is by obtaining detailed lists of purchases Coloradans made and invading their privacy -  as the bill contains provisions to subpoena online retailers to receive lists of purchases made by Colorado citizens.

Wednesday - brought to my attention earlier today by citizen journalist Ari Armstrong in an article published in People’s Press Collective and Free Colorado (”Business group challenges ‘Amazon Tax’“) the predicted came to pass: someone fought back in court against this unjust law.

It was announced yesterday that the Direct Marketing Association filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Colorado challenging the new law as unconstitutional. The DMA cited privacy violations because the new law requires companies to turn over confidential purchasing history information to the Colorado Department of Revenue. The DMA also claims the law unfairly discriminates against interstate commerce.

It’s worth noting that the challenge was filed in Federal court, not in the state courts, because the plaintiffs clearly understand that the Colorado Supreme Court has established a pattern of failing to uphold the law (as written) and that the current majority on the court would have a vested interest in striking down any challenge to the tax increase law since it relied explicitly on an interpretation of their ruling in the “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” case.  It’s a sad state of affairs when businesses and consumers cannot count on the courts in our state to uphold the rule of law.

Defend the rule of law - restore accountability to the Colorado Supreme Court, and bring back balance to the bench - by informing yourself about why the four (er, three remaining) incumbent justices of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and soon to be minus Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) deserve a “NO” vote in November.  Remember, they need YOUR approval to continue taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your home or business from against eminent domain abuse, your right to fair representation in government, 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 exercise your right to vote “NO” on retaining these unjust justices on the bench for another 10-year term!

Clear The Bench Colorado was at the forefront of the opposition to the unconstitutional “Dirty Dozen” tax increases passed by the Colorado Legislature at the start of the session - testifying before the House and Senate Finance Committees that the tax increases were violations of the rights of Colorado citizens under the Taxpayers Bill of Rights to be consulted (by vote) before being subjected to more or higher taxes, despite an interpretation of the Colorado Supreme Court ruling in the “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” case that the requirement to ask first could be ignored.  In a typical example of Colorado Politics as usual, the Legislature ignored the constitutional objections and other testimony by Colorado citizens (appearing in large numbers) against the bills and hurriedly passed the new taxes into law (ramming them through SO quickly that many have already taken effect beginning March, instead of starting in July as per normal legislative practice).

Among the worst of these from a constitutional perspective was the so-called internet sales tax (or “Amazon Tax”) House Bill 10-1193: Sales Tax Out of State Retailers (Pommer/Heath) - which not only violates the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, but also the U.S. Constitution’s 4th Amendment protection against unreasonable searches & seizures, as Clear The Bench Colorado pointed out in testimony before the Colorado Senate Finance Committee prior to the bill’s passage into law:

This bill also presents a constitutional challenge of a different kind – issues of invasion of privacy. Collecting information on every online purchase of Colorado citizens in attempting to enforce this tax will justly provoke extreme outrage. It will also inevitably provoke a host of legal challenges based on 4^th Amendment protections.

Amendment 4
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

We advised the committee that constitutional challenges to this law were practically inevitable, and stood a very good chance of success, even before the frequently anti-constitutional Colorado Supreme Court.  We also advised the committee that citizens would be justifiably outraged by the intrusion into their private affairs since the only way the state could hope to enforce the tax is by obtaining detailed lists of purchases Coloradans made and invading their privacy -  as the bill contains provisions to subpoena online retailers to receive lists of purchases made by Colorado citizens.

Recent news about a similar situation in North Carolina has highlighted the danger to personal privacy posed by the bill:

Prior to Colorado, the New York and North Carolina state legislatures passed an “Amazon tax”, ostensibly as an attempt to close budget holes. North Carolina then went on a fishing expedition looking for lost tax revenues from the past seven years. After receiving “voluminous information about nearly 50 million items sold to North Carolina customers, including order numbers; the city, county, and zip codes to which items were shipped; transaction dates and prices; and Amazon’s standard product code for the items,” now the Tar Heel state is asking Amazon for more personal information on all its customers.

More personal information… like what exactly?

The Internet retailer says the state’s Department of Revenue is demanding the name and address “of virtually every North Carolina resident who has purchased anything from Amazon since 2003, along with records of what each customer purchased and how much they paid.

Luckily for North Carolinians, Amazon is fighting that request in the courts.

Can we be confident that our own courts will defend our rights?  Not as long as the “Mullarkey Majority” rules the Colorado Supreme Court - since they were the ones who aided and abetted this assault on your rights in the first place!

Defend your rights while you still can - exercise YOUR right to vote “NO” on the four ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, & Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) who need YOUR approval to continue taking away more of your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to be safe against unreasonable search & seizure by tax collectors, your right to defend your home or business against eminent domain abuse, 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!) and your contributions - and vote “NO” on retaining these unjust justices in the November elections!

Today many Colorado citizens of all political persuasions (at least those registered with a political party) have the opportunity to make their voices heard and influence their respective party’s choice of candidates in the elections, at their county assembly. The county assemblies are the first binding votes cast leading to selection of political candidates for the general elections, and we encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunity, whatever your party affiliation.

The county assemblies ALSO present the opportunity for citizens to speak out on matters of policy, as well as politics - by voting on resolutions to gain support within the political parties and their membership.

Clear The Bench Colorado asks citizens attending the assemblies who care about our Constitution and upholding the rule of law - be they Republican, Libertarian, Green Party, or Democrat (although it may take a bit more courage from members of the latter parties) to support the following resolution (which may vary slightly in wording) at your county assembly:

     Whereas, the rule of law must be upheld by judges who respect the Constitution and act to interpret laws as written, rather than make them by legislating from the bench and overriding the will of the people -  

      Be it Resolved that  We The People strongly advocate a “NO” vote on the retention of Colorado Supreme Court Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey in the November 2010 elections, in order to restore accountability to the judiciary of Colorado.

Join Clear The Bench Colorado in returning “power to the people” - get active, get involved, raise your voice and help to restore accountability to the Colorado judiciary by exercising YOUR RIGHT to vote “NO” on the four unjust justices of the Colorado Supreme Court (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 home or business from seizure by government abuse of eminent domain power, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Help to Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your voice (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote to remove these unjust justices on election day this November!

Tonight is the night that Colorado citizens of all political persuasions (at least those registered with a political party) have the opportunity to make their voices heard and influence their respective party’s choice of candidates in the elections, at their local precinct caucus.  The precinct caucuses are the most direct interaction that the majority of Colorado citizens have in the political process, and we encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunity, whatever your party affiliation.

The precinct caucuses ALSO present the opportunity for citizens to speak out on matters of policy, as well as politics - by introducing resolutions at the caucuses to gain support within the political parties and their membership.

Clear The Bench Colorado asks citizens attending the caucuses who care about our Constitution and upholding the rule of law - be they Republican, Libertarian, Green Party, or Democrat (although it may take a bit more courage from members of the latter parties) to introduce the following resolution (which must be submitted in written form) at your local precinct caucus:

     Whereas, the rule of law must be upheld by judges who respect the Constitution and act to interpret laws as written, rather than make them by legislating from the bench and overriding the will of the people -  

      Be it Resolved that  We The People strongly advocate a “NO” vote on the retention of Colorado Supreme Court Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey in the November 2010 elections, in order to restore accountability to the judiciary of Colorado.

Join Clear The Bench Colorado in returning “power to the people” - get active, get involved, raise your voice and help to restore accountability to the Colorado judiciary by exercising YOUR RIGHT to vote “NO” on the four unjust justices of the Colorado Supreme Court (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 home or business from seizure by government abuse of eminent domain power, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, not rule by activist, agenda-driven “justices.”  Help to Support Clear The Bench Colorado with your voice (Sound Off!), your contributions, and your “NO” vote to remove these unjust justices on election day this November!

The resurgence of “We The People” in the form of local citizens banding together in grassroots civic action organizations to defend our constitutional rights is THE continuing political story of the year 2010 in America…

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is both proud and humbled to have been invited as a guest speaker to several such groups over the last several months - beginning with the massive (7000+) crowd at the Tax Day Tea Party rally at the Denver Capitol and continuing through several events throughout the Spring (examples here, and here), Summer (examples here, here, and here) and Fall (examples here, here, here, here, and here) and Winter (here, and here) of 2009 - and now coming back for more in 2010!

The Grassroots Revival continues.  Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is speaking this morning (Saturday) at the Vail Valley 9.12 Project meeting at the Avon Branch Library starting at 10AM.

Join Clear The Bench Colorado and the Grassroots Revival in restoring “power to the people” - get active, get involved, raise your voice and help to restore accountability to the Colorado judiciary by exercising 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 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 to remove these unjust justices on election day this November!

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!

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is this month’s featured speaker at the Mesa County Republican Women’s luncheon (Monday, March 6th) at the Two Rivers Convention Center, discussing the grassroots movement to restore accountability to the Colorado Supreme Court and bring back balance to the bench.

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 most importantly what you can do about it.

Enjoy a great luncheon, then sit back and 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 keep taking away your constitutional rights: your right to vote on tax increases, your right to defend your homes and business from seizure by abuse of eminent domain, 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 these unjust justices in November’s elections!

Clear The Bench Colorado will be giving the opening presentation at the South Denver Candidate Search 2010 Forum this Saturday (6 March) at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Castle Rock, CO.  Doors open to the general public at noon, and the event is scheduled to continue through 5:00 PM.

The event will also feature candidates for the Colorado House & Senate, U.S. Congress (Districts 2, 6, and 7), U.S. Senate, State Treasurer, Colorado Secretary of State, and Colorado Governor.

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

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 the performance of these justices, 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 retention elections!

The resurgence of “We The People” in the form of local citizens banding together in grassroots civic action organizations to defend our constitutional rights is THE continuing political story of the year 2010 in America…

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is both proud and humbled to have been invited as a guest speaker to several such groups over the last several months - beginning with the massive (7000+) crowd at the Tax Day Tea Party rally at the Denver Capitol and continuing through several events throughout the Spring (examples here, and here), Summer (examples here, here, and here) and Fall (examples here, here, here, here, and here) and Winter (here, and here) of 2009 - and now coming back for more in 2010!

The Grassroots Revival continues.  Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold is speaking tonight at the ROAR (Revive Our American Republic) forum starting at 6:30PM in Golden (see website for directions).

Join Clear The Bench Colorado and the Grassroots Revival in restoring “power to the people” - get active, get involved, raise your voice and help to restore accountability to the Colorado judiciary by exercising 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 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 to remove these unjust justices on election day this November!

The Clear The Bench Colorado message is spreading around the state…

Following the recent Denver Post front-page, above-the-fold coverage of the “tough vote” facing Colorado Supreme Court justices in the upcoming statewide elections this November and the resulting domination of the Post’s “letters” section the following week, Sunday’s Pueblo Chieftain published a guest editorial by Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold urging Colorado citizens to “vote against retention of four state Supreme Court justices” in the November elections.

That editorial is published in its entirety below:

Clear The Bench

Vote against retention of four state Supreme Court justices

By MATTHEW ARNOLD
CLEAR THE BENCH COLORADO

Clear the bench, Colorado! The most important four votes you can cast in 2010.  Yes, 2010 is shaping up to be a pivotal year — for our country as a whole, and for Colorado in particular.

   Campaigns for governor, U.S. senator, Congress and the state legislature are already at a fever pitch. But the most important votes Colorado citizens will cast this year aren’t for any of those elected offices.
  The most important votes Coloradans can cast this year are “NO” votes against the four Colorado Supreme Court justices asking to be retained in office.
Did you know that 2010 is a year in which four Colorado Supreme Court justices must receive the approval of Colorado voters to stay in office? Did you know that they get 10-year terms?  Did you know that these four Colorado Supreme Court justices have done the following at the expense of democratic and representative government at the local and state level?

• Upheld the unconstitutional “mill levy tax freeze” property tax increase.
• Eliminated constitutional protections for tax credits and tax exemptions — leading to the “Dirty Dozen” tax increase bills recently passed by the Colorado Legislature.
• Enabled taxes to masquerade as “fees” —  leading to the massive FASTER car tax increase.
• Abused eminent domain laws, endangering property rights (your home or business).
• Usurped the legislative power to decide “proper” school funding levels.

   Thanks to rulings by the activist (Chief Justice Mary) Mullarkey Majority on Colorado’s Supreme Court, we’ve suffered all of these tax increases (property taxes, car taxes — er, registration “fees” —  and now the “Dirty Dozen” tax increase bills taxing everything from candy and soda, online software downloads, agricultural products like pesticides and animal drugs and hormones needed to ensure safe foods, energy used in producing every good or service in Colorado, Internet sales (they want to track — and tax — things you buy online), even doggy bags — all without a vote of the people, even though the people’s vote is required by Colorado’s constitutional Taxpayers Bill of Rights (TABOR) to approve what are, in effect, tax increases.

   Did you know that the unconstitutional “Dirty Dozen” package is exploiting a few lines in last year’s “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” (property tax increase) ruling?

   Last year, the Legislature found out about that part of the ruling on April 1 — only enough time for them to pass just one bill (the tobacco tax increase), just like a bad April Fool’s Day joke.

   These tax “jokes” can’t be very funny to Pueblo residents, who are being hit hard by tax increases, particularly the energy tax (this year’s HB1190) and the car tax (last year’s SB108):

   Evraz Rocky Mountain Steel in Pueblo, the state’s largest energy user aside from public utilities, said it may have to cut 30 to 120 jobs because of the energy tax.

   The Car Tax has already hit many motorists with a $40-$50 increase (as much as triple or quadruple the previous year’s charge) in the first year alone (guess what, folks — two more years of increases to go!).

   Our Constitution was written and adopted specifically to limit the scope and power of government — to restrain government, not to give the Colorado Supreme Court free rein over the rights of citizens.

   Inform yourself on what the Constitution actually says — it’s your law, not theirs — and not nearly so complicated as they would have you believe.

   “The ultimate touchstone of constitutionality is the Constitution itself and not what we have said about it.” — Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, Graves v. New York, 1939.

   Colorado Supreme Court justices are — and must be — accountable: to the law, to the Constitution, and ultimately, to the citizens of Colorado (”We The People“). Retention elections are the only mechanism by which the people of Colorado can hold our Supreme Court justices accountable.

   Stand up for your constitutional rights and privileges. Don’t allow four justices of the Colorado Supreme Court to continue to rule them out of existence.

   Vote “NO” on the four “unjust justices” of the Mullarkey Majority (Justices Michael Bender, Alex Martinez and Nancy Rice, and Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey) this fall. Election Day is Nov. 2.

   Let’s clear the bench, Colorado!

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 on the bench!