BROOMFIELD — Municipal Judge Barbara Koehler is threatening to sue the city, claiming she was discriminated against when the City Council voted in April not to reappoint her to the bench.
Koehler’s attorney claims the city had no cause to bump her from the bench and also violated state and federal age and gender anti-discrimination laws when it fired her based on a less-than-flattering work evaluation by the University of Denver’s Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.
“She was the only municipal judge to be evaluated in this manner, and she happens to be a woman,” said attorney Jeffrey Easley. “And she’s over 40.”
Koehler is seeking a year’s salary of $115,500 and full benefits, as well as $100,000 for “mental anguish and damage to her reputation.” She also seeks legal fees and other expenses, according to a letter to the city from Easley.
Koehler became the city’s full-time municipal judge in 2006 and presided mostly over cases involving minor infractions, including misdemeanors and code violations.
But the Broomfield City Council last month voted unanimously not to reappoint her after reviewing a survey of her job performance done by a DU team.
Koehler was evaluated over a roughly two-year period and then compared with county judges, who also were evaluated.
The DU team surveyed attorneys, courthouse employees and defendants and gathered reports from DU court watchers. The penalties handed down by Koehler also were statistically analyzed.
Court watchers generally viewed Koehler positively, and her sentences were consistent, related to the offense, gender and race of the defendants, the study said.
But all three survey groups rated her lower than the county judges. Attorneys generally saw her as biased toward prosecutors and considered her sentences too harsh.
A consistent theme of the interviews concerning Koehler was of a “problematic work environment characterized by interpersonal and departmental tensions,” according to the survey.
The survey was reviewed in a closed-door session by the City Council on April 12. On April 26, the council decided not to reappoint her.
Two deputy municipal judges will handle her cases until a replacement is named.
Broomfield City and County Attorney Bill Tuthill said the DU team was hired because there was no other comprehensive way to review her work. The charge that Koehler was let go because of her age and gender “is completely untrue,” he said.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
