Careful wording of press releases are a done to confuse interested readers. Those familiar with the events leading up to Judge VanDeHey's recent deal with the special prosecutor, and the actual outcome, would know that VanDeHey is guilty. Just as guilty of failing to file campaign finance reform reports as all those who she's found guilty that came before her.
VanDeHey didn't just violate a municipal code. She violated at state law and the Colorado constitution.
Paying a lawyer to do your speaking for you isn't a crime, or even an indication of guilt. It often means that you are not confident in speaking for yourself in court. As demonstrated on the front page of the Longmont Times Call, Judge VanDeHey is quoted as calling the charge a "silly matter". VanDeHey speaking to the press is very unusual in and of itself. In the past she has refused interviews. Her sudden interest in public disclosure is suspect on its own. Her lack of practice shows.
Judge VanDeHey's 'silly matter' caused the city to agree to give the Judge a sweet deal that has never been given before. A multitude of candidates have missed filing dates and paid the fine. Some did so willingly and some had their day in court. Everyone who chose to battle the city ended up in front of VanDeHey and were found guilty by the city judge. The guilt is simple: If you missed the filing date then you are guilty. So sayeth the same Judge who now claims that she wasn't guilty and disregards the fact that she was given a plea bargain. If you were one of the candidates defending your innocence, one of the things that you would hear from the judge is that you were sloppy, and that the court must make an example of your case. So much deciding cases based on their individual merits. Our city judge likes to make examples of people. Despite all of the examples, people continue to make this particular mistake. Without exception, all of them ended up being found guilty.
Judge VanDeHey has claimed that since she didn't collect any donations or expend any money for her campaign, that she didn't need to file. The Colorado Fair Campaigns Act is part of the constitution and state law. It demands that candidates provide information about their income and expenditures so that the people of our state can know who is paying. We can't know if the candidate refuses to file.
VanDeHey's defense was that she didn't file because she had nothing to tell. How would the common citizen know that? And that is why the voters of the state passed FCPA. Why doesn't VanDeHey want us to know? Or can she really be ignorant of the law?
It appears that she wasn't trying to hide anything, she just forgot to file on time. When she submitted her form a day late, it was found to have been dated the day before she was to file. VanDeHey had to file to other FCPA reports, and those came in on time. These filings were made before and after the late one. VanDeHey managed to file her reports on time for past six years, as they were required. She slipped up and suddenly claimed that the matter was silly. I liked it better when she called people who slipped up sloppy.
VanDeHey could simply be not too smart. If she didn't want the public to see the underpinnings of her corrupt court and her lack of knowledge of the law, then she would have simply paid the fine at the counter, like so many before her. Instead we see a sitting judge claiming that her late filing of a constitutionally required report wasn't necessary, and then contending that the punishment for failure should not apply to her.
A judge, whose court hands out plea agreements many times per day, now publicly disregards that she's made just such a deal. In her case the discretion of whether or not she keeps the agreement is left to someone often seen as her subordinate.
Imagine being given the choice of where your $300 fine would been paid to? I'd go with a charity too. I'd have paid the $300 to the Inn Between, but losers like me don't get such choices. I paid VanDeHey's court clerk and it went to the city.
VanDeHey cost the city a bundle with her 'silly matter'. We paid for a special prosecutor and a stand-in judge, and we paid for many hours of staff service to put on this performance. Taxpayers will pay, and VanDeHey will not. Instead she makes a donation to her favorite charity and leaves us with the tab.
Now many of you may be thinking that this is an isolated incident of silliness. The judge flubbed and we should just let it be considered as a small error. The small error was in forgetting to file. She didn't intentionally refuse to file. She express regret and self annoyance when she discovered that she'd flubbed. What followed was an intentional cover-up, and sloppy to boot. Sloppy and cover-up is the game in our city's court. It's not the staff, it's the leadership.
Take the time now, before you find yourself defending yourself before Judge VanDeHey. Go and witness the actions and listen to our city judge in action. A judge who doesn't know the law and then gives bad legal advice to defendants. Advice that pays her court and rewards its ill deeds. A judge who promotes career criminality for further income. This is what you will see and hear.
Like the child's rhyme, Judge VanDeHey and her court has now displayed the ultimate in political corruption, "I am rubber and you are glue, everything bounces off of me and sticks to you." We've been stuck.