LAW WEEK COLORADO
An administrative law judge has chastised a Denver-based ethics-watchdog group, calling a recent complaint filed by the group “substantially groundless and frivolous.”
Colorado Ethics Watch was upbraided in a written order by Colorado Administrative Law Judge Robert N. Spencer. The written order was filed last week and made available Monday. Spencer, ruling from the bench July 21, ordered Ethics Watch to pay a still-undetermined amount of attorneys’ fees to the other side. His written order reiterates his ruling ordering the fees.
In the written order, Spencer said Ethics Watch “was in possession of facts putting it on notice that its claim was groundless but at no time did it seek to voluntarily dismiss its claim.”
Ethics accused Clear The Bench Colorado, a political group that’s pressing voters to oust three Supreme Court justices up for retention in the fall, of illegally filing as a issues committee instead of a political committee. Political committees are subject to more disclosure and lower contribution levels. Clear the Bench said it tried to file as a political committee but was dissuaded by Secretary of State officials.
Spencer criticized Ethics Watch for filing its complaint before any of the justices filed to run in the retention election. “(F)rom the beginning, CEW was in possession of facts putting it on notice that its claim was groundless, but at no time did it seek to voluntarily dismiss its claim.”
Ethics Watch argued that it’s work was a good-faith effort to “extend the law,” but Spencer said otherwise.
Despite ruling against Ethics Watch, Spencer did not otherwise address the merits of Ethics Watch’s complaint, which he is allowing to be re-filed.
The full order is published below.
