A watchdog group will get the chance to read complaints filed this year with the state’s top ethics panel alleging wrongdoing or ethical misconduct by public officials. Reversing its policy, the Independent Ethics Commission notified Colorado Ethics Watch on Wednesday it would release “all non-frivolous complaints filed in 2009.”

The move is in response to a Colorado Open Records Request from the nonprofit group and in light of a judge’s decision last week that said the government ethics panel can’t keep other documents from public view.

So far this year, the ethics commission has passed on four complaints, including one that made allegations against a school board member. In that case, commissioners said, the ethics panel lacks jurisdiction because uncompensated board members “are expressly excluded from the definition of ‘public officer’ ” in the state constitution.” In another case, commissioners said the complaint provided “insufficient evidence to proceed.”