Published by CTBC Director on 01 Oct 2010
Silent But Deadly: How Judicial Despots Have Quietly Seized Power in Colorado (and what you can do about it)
The following article was written in the week immediately following the Denver Post editorial calling me a skunk (on 9/11), so I had a little fun riffing on the olfactory theme. It was originally published (in slightly modified format, cutting the opening quote for space) in The Constitutionalist Today monthly newspaper (October “Elites Unmasked” edition, p.25).
Silent But Deadly:
How Judicial Despots Have Quietly Seized Power in Colorado
(and what you can do about it)
“At the establishment of our constitutions, the judiciary bodies were supposed to be the most helpless and harmless members of the government. Experience, however, soon showed in what way they were to become the most dangerous; that the insufficiency of the means provided for their removal gave them a freehold and irresponsibility in office; that their decisions, seeming to concern individual suitors only, pass silent and unheeded by the public at large; that these decisions, nevertheless, become law by precedent, sapping, by little and little, the foundations of the constitution, and working its change by construction, before any one has perceived that that invisible and helpless worm has been busily employed in consuming its substance.” (Thomas Jefferson; emphasis added)
The heretofore largely invisible but (alas!) not so helpless “worms” of the Colorado Supreme Court have indeed been “busily employed in consuming” the substance of our Constitution, setting aside the clear letter of the law in favor of imposing their personal political agenda.
In an increasingly flagrant series of rulings - beginning with the judicial takeover of legislative authority over congressional redistricting in the notorious 2003 Salazar v. Davidson case (in which the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling majority effectively declared themselves part of the General Assembly in order to justify the judicial power grab) - the Mullarkey Majority on the court has steadily expanded its claim to power and authority over ALL state policy questions,
“gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, and advancing its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped.” (Thomas Jefferson)
The Mullarkey Court has eroded individual property rights (the “Telluride Land Grab” case); violated the constitutional rights of Colorado Citizens to have a say over increased tax burdens (first by allowing a tax increase by calling it a “fee” - such as the Colorado Car Tax - in the 2008 Barber v. Ritter case, then aiding and abetting additional unconstitutional tax increases via the subterfuge of calling them a “rate freeze” (the 2009 “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” case) or an “elimination of existing tax credits or exemptions” - the 2010 “Dirty Dozen” tax increases); and more recently (October 2009) declared that unelected judges (not elected school boards or state legislators, exercising constitutional budgeting authority) have the final say on school funding.
This Supreme Court recognizes no limits on its power. THIS majority has arrogated to itself the ultimate power to decide all questions - legislative, executive, or judicial - in the state. For them, THEIR WORD IS LAW - according to them, the Constitution is what THEY say it is. They do not recognize a standard, or limit.
“The Constitution…is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary which they may twist and shape into any form they please.” –Thomas Jefferson
The Mullarkey Majority’s rulings have reeked of judicial activism (pushing a personal agenda, not upholding the law) for years. This is not merely a partisan issue; former Democrat governor Dick Lamm characterized a 2006 Colorado Supreme Court ruling as
“a matter of raw, naked, arbitrary political power on the part of the court. In a decision that does not reflect legal reasoning but instead a political agenda, four members of the Colorado Supreme Court decided not to let Coloradans vote on this issue. Their action was unprincipled, unjust, unfair and unjustified.” (”Politicians in Black Robes,” by Dick Lamm, in a Denver Post guest commentary 16 June 2006)
The legal establishment special-interest groups (led by the Colorado Bar Association, COBAR) have joined together in an odoriferous association to boost their buddies on the bench by recently launching an “education” campaign (electioneering without using the “magic words” of “vote yes” or “vote NO”) to prop up incumbent judges and justices. Combined, these special interests are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in television, radio, and print ads providing “nonpartisan information about the performance of judges seeking retention” that, curiously, ALL supports a “retain” vote. “Education” campaign? It doesn’t pass the “smell” test…
More than a whiff of corruption and the stink of a serious conflict of interest adheres to these special interests lobbying on behalf of the judges before whom they “practice” law.
These “politicians in black robes” have been able to get away with their “silent but deadly” takeover of political power and authority (and serial violations of the rights of Colorado Citizens) by operating outside of public view (Jefferson’s “invisible worms” analogy).
Sunshine is the best disinfectant. By shining the light of day on the serial transgressions of our judicial incumbents (three of whom - Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, and Nancy Rice - are seeking an additional 10-year term in office) and educating voters on our right to hold these ‘unjust justices’ accountable at the ballot box this November, we can clean up our judiciary.
We The People CAN exercise our right to hold these unelected officials accountable.
No more stench from the bench!
This year, “NO” your judges - let’s Clear The Bench, Colorado!
Matt Arnold (info@clearthebenchcolorado.org) is the founder and executive director of Clear The Bench Colorado, an organization working to restore accountability to the judicial branch (particularly the state Supreme Court) in Colorado. For more information, visit Clear The Bench Colorado. (Despite being called a “skunk” by the Denver Post editorial board on 9/11, this Army veteran of service in Afghanistan and other out-of-state deployments has maintained his good spirits and sense of humor).
Become an informed voter; 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 (er, now three) ‘unjust justices’ of the Mullarkey Majority (Michael Bender, Alex Martinez, Nancy Rice, and soon to be minus 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 abuse of eminent domain, and your right to enjoy the benefits of the rule of law, instead of 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 November elections!
