Justice Nathan Coats of Colorado: Cheerleader for Judicial Misfits

The state of Colorado presented Nathan B. Coats with a law license in 1977 after he graduated from the University of Colorado School of Law.

FYI: Former Gov. Bill Owens was duped into appointing Nate as a Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court in April 2000. Nate didn’t get the appointment because he was the most qualified attorney or jurist in Colorado. He received it because he had proven to be a reliable hack for the local politicians.

It should be noted that Nate has had his significant snout firmly implanted in the public trough for the past forty-two (42) years. Apparently, no self-respecting law firm in the great Denver area was about to offer him a good paying job.

The case before the Colorado Supreme Court and more specifically Justice Coats involved the matter of a criminal trial wherein the sitting jurist, Judge Ensor’s wife was a juror. Did you get that boys and girls? The trial judge allowed his wife to sit as a member of the jury.

Subsequently, the defendant appealed the conviction due to Judge Ensor’s wife being a member of the jury convicted him to the Colorado Supreme Court.

In his infinite incompetence, Justice Coats ruled that the defendant received a fair trial. In his hyperbolic (BS) ruling, Coats said in part: 

• “Judge Ensor had no duty to recuse himself because his wife was a juror.”
• “Judge Ensor could have handled this unusual situation in a more restrained manner, but his failure to do so did not create reversible error.”
• “Ensor did not have a duty to excuse his wife as a juror when no objection was raised.”

How in the hell can it be acceptable to have a trial judge’s wife sit on a jury that said judge is presiding over? To suggest this is acceptable conduct would be no different than having a judge’s wife sitting on a disciplinary panel to determine whether her husband the judge was guilty of misconduct.

In truth, Justice Coats’ asinine ruling doesn’t’ pass the involuntary laugh test.

As we speak (ca. June 2020), Coats continues to sit as a justice of the Colorado Supreme Court in Denver, Colorado.