Judge is suspended after he's accused of pointing AR-15-style rifle at stepson
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A Colorado judge has been censured and suspended without pay for 30 days after he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge based on an accusation that he pointed an AR-15-style rifle at his stepson.
The Colorado Supreme Court imposed the discipline on Judge Mark D. Thompson, a judge in Breckenridge, Colorado, in an Aug. 29 per curiam order.
The July 2021 confrontation between Thompson and his stepson began in the street in front of Thompson’s home and then moved inside the house. Thompson removed the AR-15-style rifle from a gun safe and allegedly pointed it at his adult stepson, according to stipulated facts.
Thompson was originally charged with felony menacing. He pleaded guilty in January 2022 to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct for recklessly displaying a deadly weapon in a manner calculated to alarm.
The Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline had recommended the censure and suspension. The commission had considered Thompson’s response to the ethics charges.
Thompson said the incident happened during a time of significant emotional strain stemming from threats on his life because of his judicial duties and death and illness in his family.
Thompson said the confrontation began after a car drove toward him at a high rate of speed while he was walking his dog. Thompson feared for his safety because of the threats that he had received, and he reacted angrily when he saw that his stepson was a passenger in the car. The stepson appeared to be intoxicated, was confrontational and insisted on entering Thompson’s home, Thompson claimed.
Thompson said the rifle that he displayed to his stepson was not loaded.
Thompson has been engaged in anger and stress management therapy since July 2021. He said he and his stepson “have made extraordinary progress reconciling their differences and presently have a much healthier relationship,” according to the commission’s summary of Thompson’s statements.
Thompson admitted that his conviction violated an ethics rule requiring judges to comply with the law, and his conduct created an appearance of impropriety.
Publications that covered the sanction include Law Week Colorado and the Denver Post.
The stories report that Thompson’s law license was suspended by lawyer regulators in July, but it won’t take effect if Thompson successfully completes a one-year probationary period.
