DENVER (CN) — Colorado’s former chief justice, Nathan B. Coats, was censured on Monday after he allowed a former chief of staff to obtain a multi-million-dollar contract with the court while she was being investigated for financial misconduct.
“By allowing the judicial department to contract with the former chief of staff after she had resigned in lieu of termination from the [State Court Administrators Office], former Chief Justice Coats undermined the public’s confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and failed to exercise diligence in the performance of his administrative duties,” explained the order signed by a special tribunal comprising seven Court of Appeals justices.
Soon after Coats became chief justice, a role he held from 2018 to 2020, he was notified that the state court administrator’s chief of staff, Mindy Masias, had fudged the date on an invoice for two chairs.
An independent investigator was hired to determine whether this was an isolated incident or a pattern of misconduct. In a memo, the state court administrator’s office found “a broader audit of select requests for reimbursement by Masias, which identified a number of irregularities in Masias’s past requests for reimbursement.”
Initially, State Court Administrator Christopher Ryan told Coats that “the audit had revealed nothing beyond minor errors,” but Ryan later wrote in an email that Masias’ conduct had a “significant negative impact” on the department’s finances.
As part of the court’s annual compliance audit, the state auditor's office pressured Coats to fire Masias. Ryan then suggested hiring her as an independent contractor, an idea Coats floated by the rest of the Colorado Supreme Court.
Citing health issues, Masias resigned in March 2019. The following month the court received an anonymous letter alleging Masias had placed another employee on extended paid leave to keep her quiet about what she had learned while “conducting improper surveillance.”
The letter prompted Attorney General Philip Weiser and the Office of the State Auditor to start asking questions.
"Even though there existed allegations of serious misconduct by Masias, the veracity of which were subject to a barely begun formal OSA investigation, neither Justice Coats nor the Supreme Court ordered a halt to the consideration of Masias for a contract,” the 16-page order said.
The Judicial Department signed a contract with Masias on April 11, 2019 agreeing to pay her $2.7 million plus expenses over five years to conduct training.
Coats canceled the contract in July 2019 after learning Masias had recorded former Chief Justice Nancy Rice, an action that made it inappropriate for the court to contract with her since “a contract to teach judges could not be fulfilled by someone known to surreptitiously record them.”
The special tribunal opted to censure Coats after finding several instances when he should have intervened and quashed the Masias contract but did not.
The Supreme Court justices, including current Chief Justice Brian Boatright, were recused from the censure investigation.
Attorney John Gleason of the Greenwood Village firm Burns Figa & Will represents Coats, who was appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court by Democratic Governor Bill Owens in 2000.
Gleason did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the order, Coats did not contest the censure and waved his right to a formal hearing on the matter.
The special tribunal was composed of Colorado Court of Appeals Judges David M. Furman, Anthony J. Navarro, Elizabeth L. Harris, Rebecca R. Freyre, Craig R. Welling, Jaclyn C. Brown and Christina F. Gomez.
In its last meeting, held January 2022, the court's Public Access Committee discussed making personal complaints publicly available, but did not make any commitments.
In June two former staffers sued the State Court Administrator's Office in the District Court for Denver County, alleging they were subjected to a hostile work environment where they were often dismissed as being "hysterical and dramatic" while men were praised for being assertive. The office has not yet filed a reply brief.
Follow @bright_lamp
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Jan. 6 sentences April 19, 2024 -
