Colorado Judge Steps Down After Saying N-word, All Lives Matter at Work

A Colorado District Judge resigned last week after admitting she used racial slurs with other coworkers and other inappropriate behavior at work.

What We Know:

• Judge Natalie Chase chose to resign from her position on Friday after the Colorado Supreme Court issued her a public censure. According to the order, Chase, who is white, used the N-word multiple times in conversation while driving with a Black coworker.
• The order states that “Judge Chase asked the Family Court Facilitator questions about why Black people can use the N-word but not white people.” Chase went on to ask the person whether it was different using it with an “er” at the end or an “a.” According to the order, the Court Facilitator was uncomfortable because she could not leave the car, describing the interaction as a “stab through my heart” every time Chase used the N-word.
• The order also describes other instances where Chase made fellow court workers uncomfortable. In the days after the death of George Floyd, Chase overheard two Black employees talking about the protests that followed. She then asked the two employees about Black Lives Matter. When one attempted to explain the movement, Chase, still wearing her robes and sitting on the bench, proceeded to say that “all lives matter.”
• In addition, on multiple occasions, Chase asked her colleagues to perform personal tasks for her. These included asking a court employee to drive her to and stay with her at the hospital after an emergency, and having a clerk rewrite her personal emails so they could “sound better.”
• While Chase stated that she “did not mean any racial animus,” she did admit her use of the N-word destroyed public confidence in her ability to act impartially as a judge, specifically by speaking on topics such as racial justice and police brutality while wearing her robe in court areas. Her resignation takes effect 45 days after April 16th.

Chase was appointed to the District Court on July 1, 2014 by former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. She is only the fourth judge to be publicly censured in Colorado in the last decade.