{"id":127193,"date":"2026-05-02T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/hearing-set-in-montezuma-county-judge-ian-maclaren-misconduct-case\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T12:35:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T18:35:26","slug":"hearing-set-in-montezuma-county-judge-ian-maclaren-misconduct-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/hearing-set-in-montezuma-county-judge-ian-maclaren-misconduct-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Hearing set in Montezuma County judge Ian MacLaren misconduct case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Chief
Chief Judge Todd Plewe of the 22nd Judicial District swears in Ian MacLaren. MacLaren was appointed as a county court judge to Montezuma County\u2019s 22nd Judicial District in November 2024. (Courtesy of Thomas R. Williamson)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A formal hearing in the judicial misconduct case against Montezuma County Judge Ian MacLaren has been set for three days in August, where the outcome may determine whether he remains on the bench.<\/p>\n

The case, brought on by the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline, seeks to remove MacLaren from his 22nd Judicial District seat over allegations of misconduct \u2013 allegations connected to a courtroom incident and former Journal<\/em> reporter as well as a separate traffic stop while he boated McPhee Reservoir.<\/p>\n

The proceedings are among the first to move ahead under Colorado\u2019s disciplinary rule changes after monthslong discussions about how to proceed. The rule system was altered after the state\u2019s reform measure Amendment H passed in 2024, which designated a panel to hear and decide cases, consisting of a judge, lawyer and a citizen. Some of the rules have recently been changed or have proposed amendments pending.<\/p>\n

Recent filings in MacLaren\u2019s case centered on discovery procedures and scheduling. While the initial complaint against MacLaren occurred early last September, the case now enters the trial-like stage.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, a preliminary hearing was also set for July 27 during the mid-morning proceedings led by Weld County District Court Judge Vincente Vigil, who chairs the panel. The other panel members are former Pueblo County District Attorney Jeff Chostner and non-attorney Jeannie Valliere.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter having reviewed the available options, it appears that Offices of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge are the most reasonable, logistical place to conduct a formal proceeding,\u201d Vigil said.<\/p>\n

The hearings will take place Aug. 11 to 13, with an option for public live-streaming expected to be available.<\/p>\n

Vigil noted his calendar is already packed, with about five weeks of criminal trials spread across July, August and September, adding to the challenge of coordinating a multi-day disciplinary hearing but was available during the proposed August dates.<\/p>\n

Allegations center on Burris case, reporter interactions<\/div>\n

The case against MacLaren, from the commission\u2019s perspective, are detailed in the Sept. 8 complaint.<\/p>\n

MacLaren oversaw a 2024 misdemeanor case against Tom Burris stemming from a time during his role as superintendent of the Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 School District.<\/p>\n

Burris, a mandatory reporter, was charged for failing to notify police of his alleged knowledge that a teacher and student had a sexual relationship. An investigation eventually found no abuse had occurred, but even reports of such allegations are required to be handled in certain ways. Months later, the district attorney and Burris decided on a diversion agreement, allowing the criminal case to be dismissed if Burris followed through with certain obligations.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, the commission believes MacLaren improperly handled Burris\u2019 case by calling both Burris and the district attorney in person \u201cunder the pretext of a hearing\u201d and publicly criticizing the agreement, at times allegedly suggesting Burris\u2019 guilt. The commission also argues the hearing was used to generate favorable publicity, undermining judicial impartiality and the fairness of the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on his own statements, Judge MacLaren believed Mr. Burris was guilty of the offense charged,\u201d wrote special counsel Jeffrey Walsh in the September complaint. \u201cHowever, Judge MacLaren\u2019s only source of information about the Burris case was the police reports submitted to him with the summons in the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Proceedings
Proceedings continue in the misconduct case against Montezuma County Judge Ian MacLaren. (Courtesy of Thomas R. Williamson)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The complaint points to MacLaren\u2019s interactions with a former The Journal<\/em> reporter Cameryn Cass, alleging he alerted her to cover the hearing and later complimented a Journal<\/em> article that included a photograph taken in the courtroom without prior authorization.<\/p>\n

A separate incident further alleges MacLaren lied during the commission\u2019s investigation about his communications with Cass.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet text messages between he and his romantic partner \u2013 the journalist he invited to the hearing \u2013 squarely contradict this denial,\u201d the complaint stated.<\/p>\n

In a separate incident, he is accused of invoking his role as a judge during a boating stop on McPhee Reservoir, raising concerns he sought preferential treatment from Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers in a \u201cticket-fixing\u201d attempt.<\/p>\n

In a response to the accusations, MacLaren\u2019s attorney wrote the judge did not believe calling the hearing violated the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe purpose in setting the appearance was a perhaps ill-conceived effort of transparency,\u201d a response stated. \u201cHe believed the public interest in the case warranted an explanation to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

The attorney\u2019s response acknowledged errors the judge may have made but explained it stemmed from being an extremely new judge, one with little experience in criminal law.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemoval of a very young, inexperienced judge, in a rural jurisdiction in need of dedicated judicial officers, is disproportionately punitive,\u201d the response said.<\/p>\n

Witness scheduling, testimony logistics discussed ahead of trial<\/div>\n

MacLaren did not appear at the hearing because of a full docket in Montezuma County Combined Courts but allowed his new attorney, Jane Cox, to appear on his behalf. Walsh appeared for the commission.<\/p>\n

The three-day estimate is likely to include witness testimony and presentations of argument plus evidence from both sides. Walsh said he anticipated a need to work around schedules of two Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers expected to testify.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could anticipate the possibility of making a request of the panel for remote testimony for material witnesses if needed, and hopefully the panel will be accommodating to that,\u201d Walsh told the court.<\/p>\n

After the hearings, the board will ultimately determine whether to dismiss the case, impose discipline, order informal remedial actions, or a removal from the bench, a censure, reprimand, or suspension.<\/p>\n

awatson@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

August trial dates in case seeking judge\u2019s removal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[28,60,237,29,869,6419],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-127193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-headlines","tag-montezuma-county","tag-montezuma-county-government","tag-newsletter","tag-public-officials","tag-tj-trueanthem"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127193"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128368,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127193\/revisions\/128368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127193"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=127193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}