Tough voter-approved limits on gifts to state officials violate free-speech protections and should be thrown out, opponents argued today before the Colorado Supreme Court.
The gift ban — known as Amendment 41 — was approved by voters in November 2006, but it was blocked in May by a Denver District Court ruling.
The amendment is so flawed that it would require a complete overhaul by the court — a move that is outside the judiciary’s responsibility, said Jean Dubofsky, an attorney representing the ban’s opponents.
“To make it constitutional, you’re going to have to substantively rewrite it,” Dubofsky said during the hour-long court hearing, “and I don’t think that’s an appropriate judicial function.”
Gov. Bill Ritter is appealing the lower court’s decision to block Amendment 41, arguing that it should be enforced.
Maurice Knaizer, an assistant attorney general representing Ritter, said the ban has not been allowed to take effect, so it’s impossible to claim it has harmed anybody’s free-speech rights.
The Supreme Court’s decision does not have a deadline for release. Jon Sarche, spokesman for the court, said decisions typically are released about three months after a court hearing.
