judicial discipline commission hires director

The 97% dismissal rate of complaints against judges doesn’t look like it will change anytime soon.
 
Although the previous executive director of Colorado’s Commission on Judicial Discipline finally left his position, he’s been replaced by a former chair of the commission.

​Supposedly the position was open for applicants from Oct 27, 2021 to Nov 12, 2021. But the quintessential insider was hired for the job. It is not known whether there were any other applicants.
 
The executive director is responsible for reviewing all the complaints that are filed with the office and, if he’s like the previous director, he’ll dismiss the vast majority of them and not even allow the commission to review them.
 
That’s one of the main functions of the executive director – to dismiss complaints against judges.
 
And the new executive director is Christopher Gregory. He’s an attorney who’s very familiar with the commission, but he was not reappointed by Gov. Polis in Jan. 2021. Why? At the time The Denver Post was breaking news about the judicial scandal involving a former chief justice and former state court administrator.
 
He’s never served as a prosecutor. He received his college degree from Western Colorado University in 2000. He received his law degree from Willamette University (Oregon) in 2003. He worked as a public defender and then opened his own firm in 2008. He also received a college degree in business administration and management in 2012.
 
We approached him for an interview, but he declined. We also approached the current Chair of the commission and she did not respond to our requests. We also approached the recently retired executive director, William Campbell, and he declined an interview.
 
Mr. Gregory applied to become a district court judge in the 3rd Judicial District (Huerfano and Las Animas counties) in 2018. He received a nomination for the position, but he was not selected.
 
Why the commission chose to hire the ultimate insider at a time when the judicial branch is under increased scrutiny is puzzling. But it shows the members of the judicial discipline commission do not want anything to change. And they think they’re above reproach.
 
We need change to improve Colorado’s justice system. Please contact Gov. Polis to let him know that you do not approve of the commission hiring Mr. Gregory as the executive director. You can email him at [email protected].
 
Please contact your legislators to let them know that you do not approve of the commission hiring Mr. Gregory. And please support our efforts for judicial reform.