Two agencies of Colorado’s judicial branch object to a proposed new rule that would make records of many completed personnel investigations accessible to the public.

During a meeting of the judiciary’s Public Access Committee on Tuesday, representatives of the state public defender’s office and the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel raised concerns about aligning the judicial branch’s policy on disclosure of personnel records more closely with the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA).

“This will have a chilling effect,” potentially deterring judicial employees from fully participating in workplace investigations, said Jim O’Connor of the public defender’s office, which has more than 1,000 employees.

“The specter of their information being released to anybody in the world, basically, once the investigation is closed — even if their name and whatever precise identifying information is redacted — I don’t think that will be helpful at all. That would not be a comfort for the person who will already be reluctant to provide full information about what’s going on,” O’Connor added.

Deputy regulation counsel April McMurrey said the proposed rule as currently drafted gives “transparency to allegations” when there’s a determination disciplinary action isn’t warranted. “And I think that is going to be dangerous for the person who is the subject of the complaint. It could be dangerous for the person making the complaint.”