Colorado Supreme Court Justice Alex Martinez announces impending resignation, takes city job in Denver

by CTBC Director | 8:24 pm, August 24, 2011

Colorado Supreme Court Justice Alex Martinez unexpectedly announced earlier today (Wednesday, August 24th 2011) that he intends to resign his seat on the state’s highest court in order to take a job with the City of Denver as Manager of Safety.
Justice Martinez, who was retained in office November 2010 with the lowest percentage of “retain” votes [...]

Midweek Update: Governor Hickenlooper, AG Suthers seek dismissal of ‘political’ anti-TABOR lawsuit (Fenster’s Folly)

by CTBC Director | 4:11 pm, August 17, 2011

Predictably (indeed, Clear The Bench Colorado predicted both motion and grounds almost three months ago), Governor Hickenlooper and Attorney General John Suthers filed a Motion to Dismiss the anti-TABOR lawsuit (”Fenster’s Folly“) this week, noting that the lawsuit raises a ”political question” rather than a legal issue and is therefore (as the U. S. Supreme Court [...]

Life in the FASTER lane – updates on the Colorado Car Tax

by CTBC Director | 2:55 pm, May 26, 2011

Surely make you lose your mind…
The Colorado Car Tax (er, “fee”) increase – ironically dubbed ‘FASTER’ – passed in the 2009 legislative session made another lap in media coverage this past week with a broadcast on the ‘Devil’s Advocate‘ television program and publication of a pair of “Issue Backgrounder” papers.
The “Issue Backgrounder” papers each address [...]

TABOR, citizen initiatives targeted by frivolous Fenster lawsuit

by CTBC Director | 9:12 pm, May 25, 2011

Apparently not content with killing TABOR (Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights constitutional amendment) by the thousand cuts (well, 15 and counting) of Colorado Supreme Court “interpretations” of TABOR’s viability in individual cases (most notoriously, the 2009 “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” property tax increase and the 2008 “fees don’t count as taxes” case leading to the [...]

Colorado Senate kills bill to repeal unconstitutional ‘Amazon Tax’ – one of ten “Dirty Dozen” tax increases held over from 2010

by CTBC Director | 12:05 pm, May 12, 2011

“No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.” – Mark Twain (1866)
Although the 2011 legislative session is now (happily) concluded and part of the history of Colorado Politics, the effects of the bills passed this session and last will continue to be felt for some time…
Case in point: [...]

Another One Bites the Dust? Unpopular ‘Amazon Tax’ may be 3rd of the “Dirty Dozen” tax increases to be repealed this year

by CTBC Director | 5:11 am, May 9, 2011

“No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.” – Mark Twain (1866)
Occasionally, however, the legislature can succeed in undoing previous acts putting one’s life, liberty, or property at risk…
State legislators made some progress this week towards repealing another one of last year’s “Dirty Dozen” tax increases (which exploited a Colorado Supreme [...]

Friday Funnies: Colorado Supreme Court promotes lawlessness

by CTBC Director | 9:33 pm, September 3, 2010

A rash of recent thefts may have been inspired by a Colorado Supreme Court ruling…
The Colorado Supreme Court’s ‘Gang of Four’ under their ringleader Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey (who’s skipping town rather than face justice in November) have gotten away with a series of crimes against our Constitution over the last few years, including:

‘Mill Levy [...]

Colorado Car Tax “Late Fees” = $31.5M ‘Highway Robbery’ aided and abetted by Colorado Supreme Court

by CTBC Director | 7:47 am, August 9, 2010

Clear The Bench Colorado has alerted Colorado citizens over the last several months to the Colorado General Assembly’s underhanded tactic (Colorado Politics at its worst) of circumventing the TABOR requirement to receive voter approval before imposing or increasing taxes by playing the word game of calling the charges “fees” instead, thanks to a ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court [...]

Living (effectively) without a Constitution in Colorado – courtesy of the Colorado Supreme Court

by CTBC Director | 9:12 am, August 7, 2010

Constitutional limits on government power – constraints on what the government can do to you – are the hallmark of the American form of government, and an essential bulwark of liberty against tyranny.  Our Constitution is our nation’s “rulebook”, as our state Constitution is the rulebook for state government.
What happens when our governing officials – [...]

Clear The Bench Colorado presents: judicial retention elections and the Colorado Supreme Court pending Chief Justice Mullarkey’s “retirement” in Saguache tonight

by CTBC Director | 11:30 am, August 6, 2010

Clear The Bench Colorado Director Matt Arnold discusses the impact of Colorado Supreme Court rulings leading to a massive expansion of government power (at the expense of YOUR constitutional rights) and vastly increased taxation (such as the “Mill Levy Tax Freeze” property tax increase, the “Dirty Dozen” tax increases and of course the Colorado Car Tax (er, “vehicle [...]

keep looking »

Featured Posts

• Printing Money Doesn’t Work in Britain Either

  Of course not! Why would anyone conclude that errors are geographical? Errors are errors and attempts to reinflate the British economy using the same hot air compressors that we use here aren’t going to work any better over there than they have here.

• Oklahoma’s Constitutional Amendment Would Pit Taxpayers Against Unions
• Friday’s Unemployment Numbers: Correcting the Corrections
• Romney Woos Grand Junction, Earns Sen. King’s Endorsement
• The Borking of Netflix: movie service finds privacy law to be an inconvenience
• Rich Americans Are Fleeing the Country
• ObamaCare Advisers Predict Death of Health Insurance Companies