Resigning Colorado judge used position to help “intimate” friend, officials say

A Colorado district court judge failed to disclose his intimate relationship with a woman whose felony drug case he presided over and used his position to help her with other cases in violation of state conduct rules, according to a complaint by state officials.

Judge Justin Haenlein plans to resign his post in the Eastern Plains’ 13th Judicial District, which includes Kit Carson, Logan, Morgan, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington and Yuma counties, as part of a pending agreement with the Independent Judicial Discipline Adjudicative Board.

This is the first case under a new state disciplinary system created by Amendment H, approved by voters in November in the wake of a judicial scandal that raised concerns about how judges are disciplined.

The amendment created an independent board of judges, lawyers and citizens responsible for suspending, disciplining or removing judges accused of misconduct, a job that previously fell to the Colorado Supreme Court.

Haenlein is accused of violating four rules of Colorado’s Code of Judicial Conduct related to following the law, creating an appearance of impropriety, failing to recuse himself and engaging in improper practice of law, according to the complaint filed in Weld County District Court on Tuesday.

The case was filed in Weld County because one of the three members of the panel reviewing the case is a Weld County district court judge.

Haenlein struck up a friendship with a woman – identified in court records as Jane Doe – whom he represented in four cases between 2013 and 2015 when he was a criminal defense attorney, special counsel Jeffrey Walsh wrote in the filing.

The pair began exchanging sexual and flirtatious texts in 2016 and continued until at least 2022. Haenlein represented her pro bono in a custody case with her ex-husband before recusing himself when he was appointed to the bench in 2022, but he continued to exchange explicit messages and give her money for rent and other expenses.

Haenlein is also accused of using the state’s judicial case management system to give the woman legal advice in violation of a Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice directive.

Messages sent in the spring of 2022 showed Haenlein offered the woman legal advice between explicit messages, according to the complaint. The woman asked Haenlein for $150 to help with rent, sent him a nude photo and then reminded him to send her the money.

In July 2022, the woman appeared in Haenlein’s courtroom on a felony drug case. He told attorneys in the case he had previously acted as her attorney but didn’t disclose their ongoing intimate relationship, the complaint states.

Haenlein presided over her criminal case for the next two years, during which he granted eight requests for more time so the woman could file paperwork to show she was eligible for a public defender. The judge also accepted a misdemeanor plea agreement and set bond when the woman violated the terms of her probation.

Three months later, in October 2022, the woman texted Haenlein that her boyfriend would soon appear in his courtroom on two felony charges and asked him to release the man from jail on a personal recognizance bond. 

The man, identified as John Doe, was charged with methamphetamine possession with intent to distribute and an assault out of Kansas, according to the complaint.

Judges who previously heard the man’s case rejected requests for a personal recognizance bond, but Haenlein granted it over objections from the district attorney – and again did not disclose that he knew a potential witness in the case, Jane Doe.

“…Given the nature of Mr. Doe’s prior criminal history, which included a felony drug conviction, it was objectively inappropriate to grant him a personal recognizance bond in either of the above cases under the circumstances described,” special counsel Jeffrey Walsh wrote in the complaint.

Haenlein has been on paid suspension since November.

During a Friday hearing with a panel from the Independent Judicial Discipline Adjudicative Board, an attorney for Haenlein said the judge plans to resign as part of a stipulation agreement with the state. No agreement was posted online as of Wednesday night and Haenlein’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

Denver Post reporter Sam Tabachnik contributed to this report.

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