Judge Natalie T. Chase agreed to step down after the Colorado Supreme Court censured her last Friday for violating her duties of the office.
A Colorado judge had agreed to step down this week from her role after she admitted to repeatedly using racial slurs, saying "all lives matter," and expressing her opinion on racial issues and police brutality. Judge Natalie T. Chase, 43, who was based in Arapahoe County outside Denver, resigned after the Colorado Supreme Court censured her last Friday for violating her duties of the office.
She was appointed to the District Court in 2014 by Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat who is now a U.S. senator, the New York Times reported.
In one instance, a Black worker who is a Family Court Facilitator said Judge Chase asked in early 2020 "why Black people can use the N-word but not white people, and whether it was different if the N-word is said with an 'er' or an 'a' at the end of the word," the six-page court order said.
The worker, who was unnamed, "felt angry and hurt by the conversation" and said that Chase’s use of the full N-word was “like a stab through my heart each time," according to the censure order.
Then in early February 2020, around the same time as the first incident, Judge Chase allegedly stated, while wearing her robe and sitting on the bench, that she "would be boycotting the Super Bowl because she objected to the NFL players who were kneeling during the national anthem protest of police brutality against Black people."
Chase later asked two Black employees about their opinions on the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd's murder.
"The employee tried to explain the Black Lives Matter movement, and Judge Chase stated that she believes all lives matter," according to the order.
Judge Chase has since "expressed remorse" and "apologized" for her conduct, the court said. She waived her right to a formal hearing and, instead, resigned from her position.
Her resignation will be effective on May 31.
An attorney representing Chase did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
