Protecting and Promoting Colorado's Fair and Impartial Courts
| Publication year | 2011 |
| Pages | 19 |
| Citation | Vol. 40 No. 11 Pg. 19 |
2011, November, Pg. 19. Protecting and Promoting Colorado's Fair and Impartial Courts
November 2011
Vol. 40, No. 11 [Page 19]
Joint Judicial Task Force
To provide comments to the CBA and DBA Joint Judicial Task Force (JJTF), contact one of these committee chairs: Dan McCune, JJTF Chair-dmccune@kcfpc.com; Theresa Spahn, Communications-theresa@wattorneys.net; John Baker, Education-johntbakerpc@msn.com and Dan Sweetser, Education-dsweetser@sweetserlaw.com; Stacy Carpenter, Initiatives-scarpenter@hkh-law.com. Your participation is welcomed.
About the Author
Sara Crocker is the communications specialist for the Colorado and Denver Bar Associations and editor of The Docket, the Denver Bar's monthly publication-(303) 824-5347, scrocker@cobar.org. She thanks Theresa Spahn and Malia Reddick for their assistance with this article.
Attacks on the judiciary have become prevalent in Colorado and across the country in recent years. Local campaigns have included 2006's Amendment 40.(fn1) In an effort to continue to support a fair and impartial judiciary, the Colorado Bar Association (CBA) and the Denver Bar Association (DBA) have formed the Joint Judicial Task Force (JJTF). The JJTF, in conjunction with other bar associations, will work to better educate citizens about Colorado's merit selection system and respond to such future attacks on the judiciary.
Merit Selection
Colorado's merit selection system has been in place since 1966.(fn2) A judicial nominating commission presents a list of nominees to the governor, who then makes the appointment. Thereafter, judges must stand for retention.
In 1988, judicial performance evaluations were introduced in Colorado to educate voters about judges seeking retention. Court users are surveyed about a judge's qualities-ranging from temperament to his or her knowledge of the law, as well as management of a docket and a self-evaluation.
Seven other states also have instituted some form of a merit selection system. These states are Alaska, Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Utah.
A Look Around the Country
Thirty-five states have contested elections for at least some of their judges. For example, in nearby Nevada, judges are selected through nonpartisan elections. The Nevada...
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