The Denver Gazette: The Colorado Supreme Court has approved a new rule – just days after taking public testimony about it – that requires the seven justices to step down from any misconduct inquiry that involves them or a former member of the court.

The rule, formally known as Rule 41 of the Rules of Judicial Discipline and adopted Thursday, also requires the justices to recuse themselves if the inquiry involves a colleague, family member or staffer either as a focus of investigation or as a witness.

In approving the rule, the court glaringly did not address objections by the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline, which had said it was a conflict of interest for the justices to replace themselves in such inquiries with members of the state Court of Appeals, which the new rule does. The commission recommended replacements from a pool that includes district court judges.

Visit The Denver Gazette for more.