LPR alum Jimmy Sengenberger explores delayed, “above the law” ruling in Colorado vs. CollegeAmerica court case
In his January 9th 710 KNUS interview with Eric Juhlin, CEO of the nonprofit Center for Excellence in Higher Education, LPR alum Jimmy Sengenberger (class of 2012) drills down into the legal travesty that cost CollegeAmerica millions of dollars and ultimately shut it down–for doing exactly the same thing that all public and private Colorado colleges and universities do.
In the interview, Eric Juhlin cited a number of key points in the CollegeAmerica case, which include:
“1. The Colorado Office of Attorney General (COAG) spent millions of dollars and over five years going after a college that advertised like all others colleges in Colorado–simply because the college was “private.”
“2. A good judge, in 2015, looked at the evidence and found that the COAG’s case was unlikely to succeed. But the COAG kept going after the college.
“3. In 2017, the case went to trial and ran smack into a new judge who couldn’t do his job.
“4. Two and on-half years went by after the trial and the judge had still not reviewed the case and issued a decision.
“5. Only after the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline (CCJD) began reviewing this unconscionable delay did the judge finally issue a decision–at 4:30am on the morning the CCJD was reviewing, for the third time, this judge’s inability to do his job.
“6. In the end, after almost three years of delay, all the judge did was copy almost 85% of a draft verdict prepared by the COAG. This judge didn’t “judge”, he didn’t consider all the evidence, he didn’t “rule.” All he did was punt to the Government and push out a verdict to appease a review Commission. Coloradans deserve better!
“7. Colorado needs a judicial system that has judges who will actually follow the law, thoughtfully review evidence, and protect citizens and business from government overreach and ideological agenda.
“8. A judge who simply defers to the Government and takes the easy way out doesn’t help our society, doesn’t help Colorado, and runs against the whole idea of separation of powers. When that happens, Coloradans lose, Colorado business lose, and the whole State loses. Colorado needs judges that do their job thoughtfully and well. We don’t need judges who wait three years after a trial ends and then push out verdicts that simply take whatever the government says as the truth.”
In a related story, Complete Colorado, published an op-ed by Independence Institute CEO Jon Caldara, wherein he comments (in his distinctive brand of humor) on a serious threat to freedom in Colorado: “Colorado’s judicial branch is the “black ops” of government,” Jon writes. “While our legislative and executive branches must adhere to some minimal amount of transparency under the Colorado Open Records Act and open meetings laws, those in black robes have largely exempted themselves.
“Even when a judge breaks the rules, we can’t know about it–even though they supposedly work for us in an open government.
“Such was the case with Denver District Judge Ross Buchanan. He presided over a case against a private not-for-profit college, CollegeAmerica. Closing arguments were finished by mid-November 2017. Nearly three years later the good judge still hadn’t issued a ruling. Three years!
“So much for a right to a speedy trial…”
Read all of Jon Caldera’s op-ed in Complete Colorado online.
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