Judge resigns after repeatedly using n-word

Natalie T. Chase is stepping down from the bench after being found to have ‘undermined confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary’ in a number of incidents

The Supreme Court of Colorado, Denver (Drorzm)

A judge in Colorado resigned after she was censured for repeatedly using the n-word.

The offence was one of four violations of the judicial code committed by Natalie T. Chase, according to the Supreme Court of Colorado on Friday.

It found in a report that she “undermined confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary by expressing views about criminal justice, police brutality, race and racial bias”.

Following the censuring and resignation, she will step down from the bench of the Arapahoe County District Court in six weeks.

Incidents included frequently using the n-word in front of Black colleagues, and asking a Black court facilitator “why Black people can use the n-word but not white people”.

Ms Chase, who is white, continued by asking “whether it was different if the n-word is said with an ‘er’ or an 'a' at the end of the word”.

The Supreme Court of Colorado said the facilitator, who was a passenger in the car of Ms Chase’s during the incident, felt uncomfortable and described the use of the n-word as “a stab through my heart each time.”

In another offence, Ms Chase was referencing Black Lives Matter protests over the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020, when she “stated that she believes all lives matter”.

And in another conversation with colleagues in February 2020, Ms Chase said “she would be boycotting the Super Bowl because she objected to the NFL players who were kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality against Black people,” the court said.

It added that she “repeatedly discussed personal and family matters” with colleagues “'in a manner that was not dignified or courteous”.

Ms Chase, who apologised for the incidents on Friday, is among a number of court officials to resign in recent months for concerns of racist behaviour, reported The Washington Post.