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ColoradoJudges.org
Chief Justice Brian Boatright
Chief Justice Boatright led the judiciary's response to the series of scandals erupting over the last several years.
Media reports indicate years of obstruction by the court and by Justice Boatright individually.
Like many of the examples of misbehaving judges on this site, Justice Boatright has been recommended for retention by the performance commission without addressing the misconduct reported below.
Follow this link to Justice Boatright's 2024 Judicial Performance Commission recommendation:
This linked report details how Justice Boatright obstructed and delayed the referral of alleged wrongdoers to prosecutors. This coverup prevented prosecutors from charging them. In turn, Justice Boatright's personal involvement was shielded from being exposed. Read the report here (especially pages 9-10 and 20):
This section contains other reports of his misbehavior that were omitted from the 2024 evaluation.
Boatright misconduct
"The people of Colorado deserve a judiciary that they know is being held accountable ... regardless of title or position."
- Chief Justice Boatright, 2/16/2021
Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 2.10 (A)
"A judge shall not make any public statement that might reasonably be expected to affect the outcome or impair the fairness of a matter pending or impending in any court or make any nonpublic statement that might substantially interfere with a fair trial or hearing."
Just as the Masias Contract Affair was coming into public view, the justices of the Colorado Supreme Court issued the following public statement:
"The notion that former Chief Justice Coats and his counsel Andrew Rottman -- both dedicated public servants -- would ever authorize the use of state resources to silence a blackmailer is simply false."
Ethics complaint filed against Justice Boatright
At the very outset of the scandal, the Supreme Court justices demonstrated that they had prejudged the facts of the case - despite their position as ultimate deciders of the controversy - and the strong liklihood of their personal involvement in the matter.
Consequently, at least one person (a retired chief judge) filed an ethics complaint with the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline.
The discipline commission dismissed the complaint in 2024. They gave no real explanation.
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