Amendment H creates a board of lawyers, judges and citizens (four each) to evaluate charges of judicial misconduct with some transparency than exists now. Currently, accusations are handled by a panel of judges and considered secret until the end of the process.
Now, charges are screened by a panel of judges appointed by the state’s Supreme Court and the governor. That will be eliminated in favor of an Independent Judicial Discipline Adjudicative Board.
Recent missteps by the state’s Supreme Court in a personnel matter have likely caused the creation of a board that includes attorneys and citizens rather than only judges to be proposed.
The Herald’s board has no reason to believe that ethical lapses by judges in the state’s several court levels are many, but Coloradans have to feel that the judicial system is performing ethically and if it’s not that there is a group of some disinterested individuals that will set it right.
The Herald’s editorial board suggests a “yes” vote to add Amendment H to the state’s constitution.
