Chief Justice admits “crisis of confidence”
Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian Boatright on Thursday vowed to reform the state’s judicial branch in the wake of allegations of judicial misconduct, sexism and harassment — and of a high-level cover-up intended to keep those misdeeds secret.
“Where there is wrongdoing, we will address it,” Boatright said. “Where there was an abuse of power, we will stop it. Where our policies are deficient, we will change them. We want to know the truth. We recognize the branch faces a crisis of confidence in its leadership.”
Boatright became emotional and struggled to speak at times
as he addressed Colorado lawmakers in the state House of Representatives during the annual State of the Judiciary speech Thursday. He reiterated the state Supreme Court’s commitment to investigating the cover-up allegations through an independent panel not controlled or appointed by the justices and said there needs to be a cultural change within the branch.
The investigators will examine former State Court Administrator Christopher Ryan’s allegation that high-ranking judicial officials — including retired Chief Justice Nathan “Ben” Coats — agreed to give a $2.5 million contract to a former top administrator to keep details of judges’ misconduct secret.
Former Judicial Department Chief of Staff Mindy Masias, who was facing termination over financial irregularities, threatened to reveal the judges’ misconduct in a lawsuit, Ryan said. She instead was given the five-year training contract to ensure she stayed quiet, he said.
The state Supreme Court released a two-page memo detailing the alleged misconduct last week after The Denver Post reported Ryan’s allegations. The memo details numerous instances of alleged misconduct, including that a judge sent a pornographic email via his work account, that another judge rubbed his “hairy chest” on a female employee’s back, and that an anonymous allegation of sexism and harassment against a chief justice was destroyed.
“The conduct described in the allegations, if accurate, is unacceptable and cannot and will not be tolerated,” Boatright told lawmakers. “We need to know if human resources investigated any of these allegations and, if they did, what actions were taken. And if the investigation didn’t occur, we need to know why. What we need, first and foremost, is the truth.”
During the 40-minute speech, Boatright outlined some changes already made within the judicial branch since the contract was awarded in 2019, including hiring new State Court Administrator Steven Vasconcellos after Ryan’s resignation and installing new directors in the finance and court services departments.
Boatright said that although the chief justice traditionally has handled administrative duties alone, the justices now are sharing those responsibilities, with each justice providing oversight to a different department within the branch. The position of chief justice also will rotate among the justices on a regular basis.
“We did this in part to keep fresh eyes on things,” he said. “We now embrace the philosophy that seven brains are better than one.”
Former Chief Justice Coats, who retired Dec. 31, has refused to comment to The Post on the cover-up allegations. And although the Judicial Department on Feb. 4 told employees in a memo that it “categorically denies” that the contract was given to keep information about the department quiet, Boatright made no such denials Thursday.
The chief justice also did not address how discipline for judges in Colorado is handled largely in secret, although some lawmakers have suggested this month that the process should be made more transparent.
Senate President Leroy Garcia, D-Pueblo, said in a statement Thursday that he was encouraged by Boatright’s speech.
“I was pleased to hear the chief justice acknowledge the need for a cultural shift in the Judicial Department, but this is the only first step toward a journey of rectification,” he said. “If recent allegations are true, harassment, sexism and power abuse are common occurrences throughout the ranks of the judiciary — a truly horrifying thing to imagine. Action must proceed quickly and comprehensively to address these allegations, leaving no stone unturned, until we right the wrongs of the past and ensure impeccable leadership going forward.”
The independent investigation into the cover-up allegations will take at least a month to get started, Boatright said. A panel of people selected by Gov. Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser and lawmakers will draft a request for proposal to define the scope of the investigation. That request for proposal will remain open for 30 days, and the panel will select the investigators from submitted bids.
Until the investigation is finished, Boatright said he will be personally alerted to any new allegations of misconduct and will monitor any investigations into misconduct on a weekly basis.
Boatright’s address focused largely on the scandal, but he also praised efforts to make courts more racially diverse and asked legislators for help dealing with a massive, unprecedented backlog of more than 14,600 jury trials caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Courts in Colorado typically handle about 2,700 jury trials each year, he said. The courts will need help to work through the backlog, which is about five years of trials, he said.
Boatright asked legislators to expand the state’s senior judge program so more retired judges can take the bench, increase funding to the branch after budget cuts last year and consider lifting the sixmonth speedy trial deadline.
He told legislators that after cover-up allegations became public, he reached out to a longtime employee of the judicial branch to ask how she was doing.
“She responded that for the first time in her 20-year career, she was not proud to tell people she worked for the judicial branch,” Boatright said. “That broke my heart. But it also steeled my desire for answers.”