As District Attorney Carol Chambers left a Denver courthouse last week after her disciplinary hearing, she said that perhaps the proceeding would define where “the line” was for DAs.
We presume she was talking about ethical boundaries that DAs should not breach. If she has any doubt whatsoever that her conduct crossed such a line, that is a disturbing revelation that calls into question her fitness for office.
Chambers, who prosecutes crimes in Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties, was captured on voicemail trying to strong-arm a bill collector who was bothering a political acquaintance. In a recorded message, the first-term DA threatened to unleash a grand jury on Jonathan Steiner, an Englewood lawyer. Then Chambers ordered an investigation into the lawyer’s actions.
She did this on behalf of Englewood City Council member Laurett Barrentine, an Arapahoe County Republican Party official who was an identity theft victim.
Chambers claims she meant she was going to empanel a grand jury to generally investigate collections lawyers who pursued victims of identity theft. That is neither what she said nor what she did, according to testimony that largely corroborated Steiner’s complaint against her.
Any garden-variety defendant who put up such a defense in the 18th Judicial District would get eaten for lunch. That Chambers expects us to believe such drivel shows arrogance or desperation.
A three-member panel, which includes Judge William Lucero and two lawyers, must decide whether Chambers should be punished.
If Chambers had any respect for her office and the people she serves, she would apologize for her abuse of authority. Instead, as she left the third day of disciplinary hearings, she said: “Where is the line? This will help clarify that for district attorneys everywhere,” Chambers said.
Make no mistake, we have little sympathy for the bill collector, who says he’s still quaking in his boots over the actions of the DA. We’re sure he routinely hears worse. And we understand he wasn’t the most pleasant person to deal with, either.
But that in no way excuses Chambers’ behavior. She doesn’t seem to realize that using her power to benefit a fellow Republican political figure is wrong. The disciplinary board should show no tolerance for such behavior, handing the DA a suspension so she can spend some time thinking about “the line.”
