What’s the big deal about the total eclipse? You don’t have to go to Wyoming to see it.
Colorado is dark all the time regarding judicial discipline proceedings. They’re confidential; not public. We’re like only 14 other states – the same number that the total solar eclipse will touch. Not even the judicial performance commissions that advise you whether to retain a judge know whether a judge has been disciplined.
And because Colorado’s Commission on Judicial Discipline dismisses complaints against judges at a rate of 97 percent, it’s really a double total eclipse. Make that a triple.
Colorado’s Open Records Act doesn’t apply to judicial proceedings. Judges write their own rules regarding disclosure of all their records in Colorado.
Want to experience a total eclipse? Just visit a Colorado court. It’s dark 24/7, 365 days a year.
Chris Forsyth
Wheat Ridge
Editor’s note: Chris Forsyth is executive director of The Judicial Integrity Project.
