LAW WEEK COLORADO
DENVER — Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler last week filed an amicus brief supporting the position of judicial-ouster group Clear The Bench Colorado, which was his client until late last year.
Colorado Ethics Watch filed a campaign-finance complaint last year against Clear The Bench. Administrative Law Judge Robert Spencer ruled that Clear The Bench should have registered as a political committee, which have caps on money received, rather than as an issue committee, which have no caps. Gessler represented Clear The Bench throughout the litigation.
Clear The Bench appealed Spencer’s decision to the Colorado Court of Appeals, and in an amicus brief filed April 15, Gessler supports his former client.
Spencer’s ruling was contrary to a finding by the office of then-Secretary of State Bernie Buescher that said Clear The Bench was an issue committee. Gessler took over as secretary of state in January. He contends in the amicus brief that administrative law judges, who are appointed by the state Department of Personnel, have no authority to contradict the secretary of state. That’s a power reserved for state judges within the Judicial Department, Gessler holds.
The state Attorney General’s office filed the brief for Gessler, with Deputy Attorney General Maurie Knaizer as attorney of record. Ethics Watch Director Luis Toro released a statement Tuesday criticizing Gessler for using state resources to weigh in on behalf of a former client.
