LAW WEEK COLORADO
DENVER — Clear The Bench Colorado, a group seeking to oust three state Supreme Court justices in this November’s retention election, gets its day in court today. Administrative Law Judge Robert Spencer must rule within 15 days whether the committee violated state campaign finance law. Spencer denied Clear The Bench’s motion to dismiss, which he had granted in a similar hearing in July.
The case stems from a campaign finance complaint that Colorado Ethics Watch filed against Clear The Bench in May, alleging it should have registered as a political committee rather than an issue committee. Political committees have contribution limits that issue committees don’t have.
Ethics Watch reasoned that the justices are constitutionally defined as candidates, and that political committees include those designed to oppose candidates.
But at a hearing in July, Spencer dismissed Ethics Watch’s complaint because it was filed before any of the four eligible justices had declared their intent to seek retention — that is, before they had officially become candidates. Finding the complaint “substantially groundless and frivolous” because of this, Spencer also ordered Ethics Watch pay unspecified attorney fees.
Since Ethics Watch filed its original complaint, three justices — Michael Bender, Alex Martinez and Nancy Rice — have announced they will run in the retention election. With the justices thus established as candidates, Ethics Watch filed an amended complaint.
At a hearing Wednesday morning, Spencer denied Clear The Bench’s motion to dismiss or for summary judgment. Spencer will have 15 days to issue a decision.
Scott Gessler and Mario Nicolais of Hackstaff Gessler represent Clear The Bench. Luis Toro, director of Ethics Watch, is joined on a pro bono basis by Aaron Goldhamer of Sherman & Howard.
