Court: Branches can pick auditors

Possible investigators would explore alleged effort to keep judicial misconduct quiet

The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the other branches of state government to choose independent investigators to dig into allegations a $2.5 million contract was the result of a threatened tell-all lawsuit.

Chief Justice Brian Boatright called on the legislature and Gov. Jared Polis to decide who will examine allegations of undisciplined sexual harassment within the judiciary laid out in a twopage memo made public last week.

“We’re disappointed and absolutely heartbroken by this situation, and nobody wants these investigations to go forward more than I do,” Boatright said in a release.

Boatright said a panel of representatives from the governor’s

office, the attorney general’s office and the general assembly will be identified Thursday when he gives the State of the Judiciary speech. He said he will also comment further during the speech.

The inquiry stems from 2019 Denver Post articles that revealed former Judicial Department Chief of Staff Mindy Masias was given a five-year judicial training contract worth at least $2.5 million even though she faced termination over financial irregularities. The contract was then canceled. This month, The Post reported that the contract was a way to keep Masias from revealing what she knew about sexual harassment within the department, according to former chief administrator Christopher Ryan, who resigned in the wake of the contract issue.

Masias’s claims were put down in the two-page memo. The court and attorney general’s office blocked The Post’s efforts to obtain the memo, but ultimately released it after The Post made Ryan’s allegations public. The Court has denied any quid pro quo.

House Speaker Alec Garnett, D-Denver, praised Boatright’s offer, saying he was “encouraged” that other branches of government were “invited to help oversee” the inquiry. But Garnett said there needs to be more.

“I support the call for a special prosecutor to look into the specific allegations of inappropriate contracts that were issued with taxpayer money at the Judiciary,” Garnett said.

Senate President Leroy Garcia, D-Pueblo, similarly called Boatright’s move “a positive step forward.” He’s not ruled out additional steps by legislators.

“Collective trust in the judicial branch has been severely destabilized by the allegations and an independent investigation is only the beginning of what must be a thorough and actionable process,” Garcia said in a statement. “I look forward to urgently uncovering the truth ... and am primed to prioritize policy solutions if need be.”

A separate investigation by Auditor Dianne Ray began last week when Boatright made the memo public. The results of the auditor’s inquiry are not automatically public unless criminal charges are filed.

The court said the results of the independent investigation will be public, “including steps for procedural improvement to ensure accountability, fairness, and transparency throughout Colorado’s judicial branch.”

The Post this week reported that two lawyers in Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office knew about the memo and the assertion it was the reason for the $2.5 million contract. Weiser has refused to say if the attorneys shared the information with him. He did support Boatright’s request to participate in naming the independent investigators.

“Such an investigation is a necessary step to address these serious allegations, provide accountability, and restore public trust in the judiciary,” Weiser said in a statement Tuesday.

Boatright said the investigation is because Coloradans “deserve a judiciary that they know is being held to the highest standards of professionalism and ethical behavior, regardless of title or position.”

Ryan said he welcomes the investigation.

“As I have previously indicated, I have always been willing to assist in a complete review of these matters,” Ryan told The Post on Tuesday. “I look forward to cooperating with this investigation in any way that I can.”

The memo contains allegations of harassment and misdeeds by justices of the state Supreme Court, a judge of the Colorado Court of Appeals, district court chief judges, and chiefs of probation at a number of judicial districts.

Boatright on Tuesday said he wants to be notified “and receive weekly updates” on all future misconduct complaints across the department “to ensure each incident is fully investigated and acted on as appropriate without delay.”

Boatright said the department’s employees “are shocked and disheartened by these allegations.”

The decision to award the contract to Masias came at a meeting in January 2019 between thenChief Justice Nathan “Ben” Coats, his counsel Andrew Rottman, Ryan and then-Human Resources Director Eric Brown, who authored the memo.

Although the contract was put out for public bids, there were no responses and Masias was given it as a “sole-source,” meaning it was determined she was the only one with the skills necessary to do the job.

Originally priced at $750,000 a year with four one-year options, it was changed for Masias to a fiveyear deal worth at least $2.5 million and as much as $2.72 million with additional expenses.

Masias earned nearly $172,000 a year as chief of staff.