They say justice is blind, but, like the rest of Colorado, the state’s high court can’t help but see in blue and orange.
Colorado’s Supreme Court justices join the rest of the state in the excitement over the Denver Broncos’ run to the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks. Four blue and orange “Go Broncos” banners were recently draped down the stately columns on the front of the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center, which houses the Supreme Court and the Colorado Court of Appeals.
But some legal experts have thrown a flag on the court’s play for excessive celebration, and the $3,200 price tag attached to it.
Judges aren’t just any fans and should be hyperaware of appearing unbiased, said William Brunson, director of special projects at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nev. He said the banners could create a conflict of interest if a case involving the Broncos corporation, or an individual player, ever appeared before the state’s high court.
“You are looking at this situation two ways,” Brunson said. “Of course the justices want to support anything that beneficially impacts the state, but can they be advocates for that? That’s the question.”
The idea for the banners was hatched at a retirement party for former Chief Justice Michael Bender, who retired on Jan. 7, said Rob McCallum, spokesman for the Colorado Judicial Branch.
Newly appointed Chief Justice Nancy Rice approved the show of orange and blue earlier this month. The banners were hung right before the team’s AFC championship win over the New England Patriots.
“I think we, like anyone in Colorado, are very partial to the Broncos winning the Super Bowl,” McCallum said. “But when it comes to a matter of law, that is a completely different story.”
Robert Giacalone teaches business and legal ethics at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business. He said there is a gray area between a government agency endorsing the Broncos as a business, or cheering on the team.
“I cannot imagine that the court system, because they are placing a banner out front, is going to change any of its positions as a result of supporting the Broncos for the Super Bowl,” Giacalone said.
Brunson agreed that banners don’t indicate the justices are biased, but he said there is no legal test to decide between team spirit and a business endorsement.
The issue, Brunson said, is not whether the justices are biased. Instead, the concern is whether those who may appear before the court in a Broncos-related case feel they have a fair shot.
McCallum said past cases involving both the Broncos as a business, and individual players, have shown that neither received any kind of favor.
“The court felt as though this was a great opportunity to get behind something that is Colorado,” McCallum said. He joked that hanging a Seahawks banner to prove impartiality would likely upset most Coloradans.
But no matter the opinions, one verdict is already in for the banners: The Colorado Supreme Court has better decorations than its counterpart in Washington state.
When asked whether the high court had any Seahawks gear on its building in Olympia, a clerk said: “Oh, no, no, no.”
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794, jsteffen@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jsteffendp
