For justice to be served, Bernett’s prosecution must be impartial

There has been a lot of public debate about reforming our criminal justice system to ensure everyone is treated equally and fairly under the law.

Often those debates revolve around making sure underserved and minority communities are not racially profiled, not unjustly prosecuted and not unfairly punished for minor crimes.

What the conversation needs to also include is a discussion about ensuring that the wealthy and well-connected are not unfairly let off for crimes they have committed. Justice requires both elements to be truly blind and impartial.

That is why I believe it is incumbent on Democratic Boulder

County District Attorney Michael Dougherty to fairly prosecute now-former State Representative Tracey Bernett for her crimes — both transparently and with the same vigor that he would bring toward the prosecution of someone that doesn’t have political power.

According to the Denver

Post, “Bernett was charged in November with attempting to influence a public servant, forgery, providing false information about a residence, perjury and procuring false registration. The charges stem from her allegedly lying about her primary residence in her 2022 re-election bid.”

While representing House District 12, Rep. Bernett suddenly found her home in Longmont in House District 19 due to redistricting the lines of

State House districts that were redrawn in 2021. House District 19 was potentially a much more competitive district.

Rather than trying to compete for swing voters, according to the charges, Rep. Bernett rented an apartment in Louisville in order to run for re-election in the much more Democratic-leaning House District

12.

But she didn’t really live there, it was just a ruse for electoral purposes. The investigation by Dougherty’s office found she spent such little time at her Louisville apartment that it had become infested with cobwebs!

District Attorney Dougherty deserves high praise for deciding to investigate and then prosecute a member of his own political party, and a fellow elected Democrat at that. We don’t see nearly enough of that in today’s politics.

The charges stem from a complaint that I filed, as a resident of House District 12, with Dougherty’s office regarding my concerns about Rep. Bernett’s residency based on reporting by the Colorado Sun, as well as some of my own investigative efforts. To Dougherty’s credit, his office took my complaint seriously and launched their own investigation, which ultimately led to his office criminally charging Rep. Bernett for her acts of fraud.

However, simply bringing charges is not enough. A full, fair and transparent prosecution of Rep. Bernett for her alleged crimes against the people of Colorado is necessary. Representative Bernett should not be let off with a sweetheart deal that is nothing more than a slap on the wrist, or worse, with the details hidden from public view.

A lawmaker became a lawbreaker, and for the sake of both our democratic institutions and an impartial justice system, Dougherty needs to prosecute Rep. Bernett to the fullest extent of the law when her arraignment occurs later this month.

For the sake of trust in our elections and our criminal justice system, Dougherty should do the right thing and hold

Rep. Bernett accountable for her crimes against the people of Colorado.