Denver District Court Judge Norman D. Haglund today gave Colorado Ethics Watch and Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey two weeks to file written arguments in the case against DA Morrissey for his failure to prosecute Ethics Watch's complaint against State Senator Andy McElhany. Judge Haglund's order came in response to Ethics Watch's June 24 request for a hearing.

Today's order gives Ethics Watch and DA Morrissey until July 11 to file the written arguments. After the Court receives these written submissions, it will decide whether to hear oral arguments, hold an evidentiary hearing, or rule based on the written court filings.

On June 2, Ethics Watch filed suit against DA Morrissey for his failure to act on Ethics Watch's April 2007 request for an investigation of potential criminal conduct by Senator McElhany and others in connection with the launch of the Senate Minority Office's official website.

Colorado Ethics Watch presented significant evidence to the district attorney in its original request for investigation in April 2007. In summary:

Use of private funds for public functions: Sen. McElhany appears to have violated state law by using private funds to defray expenses for official duties – those of the Senate Minority Office. Violations of this provision are misdemeanors, punishable by fines of up to $1,000. Sen. McElhany admits that he used a $2,700 gift from the Senate Majority Fund, a private, partisan political committee, to pay for the cost of the website www.ColoradoSenateNews.com, unveiled in January 2007 as the official “communications arm” of the minority office.

Failure to report a gift: Even if the gift from the Senate Majority Fund was legal, Sen. McElhany was required by state law to report the gift to the secretary of state. Violations of this provision are misdemeanors, punishable by fines up to $1,000. To date, neither Sen. McElhany nor any other members of the Senate Minority Office has reported a gift from the Senate Majority Fund in their 2007 reports.

Use of state seal: Any person who illegally uses or affixes the Colorado state seal to any written or printed document commits a class five felony. For the first three months after ColoradoSenateNews.com launched, a copy of the state seal was prominently displayed at the top of the home page and in the body of all electronic notices. Only after lawmakers and reporters began questioning the propriety of using the seal did Sen. McElhany have the seal removed.

Use of State Resources for Partisan Activities: Under Sen. McElhany’s supervision, minority office employees have used ColoradoSenateNews.com to engage in partisan activities. Articles on the website have attacked and claimed to expose “left-leaning” organizations, while discussing no official state business, policy issue or the work of state legislators. Senate minority office employees operate and maintain the site using state-issued e-mail accounts during state-paid time.

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