A substitute judge will be temporarily handling cases on the docket of Montezuma County Court Judge Ian MacLaren.
The substitute will reportedly come from the Senior Judge Program, which allows retired judges to handle cases on a part-time basis, filling in for regular judges as needed.
MacLaren will be undergoing an unpaid 90-day suspension related to allegations that he inappropriately held a hearing about a diversion agreement and told a former Journal reporter about the upcoming hearing.
On July 11, MacLaren and the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline reached an agreement to resolve the case against him before it went to a scheduled hearing on Aug. 11.
The Colorado Independent Judicial Discipline Adjudicative Board issued an order accepting the stipulation on July 20.
Most of the allegations against MacLaren were related to a 2024 misdemeanor charge against former Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 School Superintendent Tom Burris. He was accused of failing to report to authorities his alleged awareness of a possible sexual relationship between a student and a teacher despite the fact that he was a mandatory reporter.
Burris reached a diversion agreement on the charge.
In February 2025, MacLaren held an unnecessary hearing on the agreement instead of issuing a stay as he was supposed to, according to the stipulation agreement for public censure and suspension.
“Pursuant to C.R.S. § 18-1.3-101(9)(f), once a diversion agreement is submitted to the court, the judge must stay all future proceedings and hearings,” the stipulation agreement says.
At the hearing, he reportedly criticized the diversion agreement as too lenient, calling it “a slap on the wrist.”
MacLaren also allegedly texted the former Journal reporter, with whom he was friendly, to urge her to come to the hearing.
“Judge MacLaren admits that his conduct in this matter was inappropriate and violated several judicial Canons,” the stipulation states. “He responded to the diversion hearing by clarifying that he informed Reporter C.C. of the diversion hearing, at her request. He admits his communications with Reporter C.C. about the date and time of the diversion hearing were inappropriate, and he knew they were inappropriate at the time. He asserts that he scheduled the Burris diversion hearing in the interest of transparency so the public would know that neither he, nor the judiciary, played any role in the Burris diversion agreement. However, he admits that his comments at the hearing were ill-informed, inappropriate, denied the defendant the presumption of innocence, created the appearance of bias against the defendant, and could have compromised the defendant’s right to a fair trial, should one become necessary.”
MacLaren also was alleged to have inappropriately mentioned to officers with Colorado Parks and Wildlife that he was a judge when he was pulled over in June 2025 for being in a boat with expired tags.
In addition to the suspension, MacLaren is to receive a written public censure and to take ethics training.
