Colorado voters in the Nov. 5 election face a crush of judicial retention questions on the ballot that can be intimidating. How should voters approach them?
Judges in Colorado are appointed to the bench in state and county courts, rather than elected. But they later appear on the ballot when they come up for retention — allowing voters to decide whether they should continue serving.
The system has its critics, in part because it’s rare for a judge to get booted by voters. One factor is that the names are unfamiliar to the average voter, making an educated decision difficult.
But it’s also because it’s rare for citizen review commissions, set up to help fill that information gap, to find that a judge doesn’t meet performance standards. (Some jurists with turbulent tenures also may quietly decide against seeking retention when their terms are up.)
Here is a guide to help you sort through these ballot questions.
The state provides voters with help
Colorado has an evaluation process that offers information and evaluations on judges. Nonpartisan commissions assess all the judges on the ballot and issue simple recommendations about each judge or Colorado Supreme Court justice who is up for retention, along with more information if you’re willing to study up.
All but one of the 116 judges evaluated by state and district-level commissions this year were found to meet performance standards. The one outlier, Garfield County Court Judge Angela Roff, did not meet performance standards because “the majority of the commission found her legal knowledge and administrative performance in need of further development.”
The process has drawn criticism because the evaluations lack information that might be more useful to some voters. (More on that later.)
In 2022, all judges were found to meet performance standards. In 2020, two judges were found not to meet performance standards: Adams County District Court Judge Tomee Crespin, who protested the rating but went on to lose her retention vote and her job; and Sedgwick County Judge James Craig Dolezal, who still won retention. Two years earlier, voters rejected two judges — the only ones who had received ratings of “Does Not Meet Performance Standards” by the commissions.
How judges get their jobs in Colorado
In most states, judges face election in some way — sometimes in nasty partisan races. But Colorado’s system, at least for judges in state-overseen courts, is all-appointment.
The governor fills court vacancies by appointing Supreme Court justices, Court of Appeals judges, and district court and county court judges. The only exception is the city and county of Denver, where the city’s mayor appoints the Denver County Court’s judges (but not the judges for Denver District Court).
Before any appointment is made, nominating commissions made up of attorney and non-attorney members vet applicants and recommend at least two candidates. For Court of Appeals and Supreme Court vacancies, at least three candidates are required.
Colorado’s system goes back about five decades and is meant to keep judges from soliciting donations and running political campaigns. The role of voters in deciding retention questions, however, long has been a challenge.
“In 1988, the legislature was answering the question of how to give voters more information on judges who are up for retention, so they created commissions on judicial performance,” Kent Wagner, executive director of the state’s Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation, told The Denver Post in 2020. “We’ve been doing that ever since, with 231 commissioners (serving on panels) who evaluate the state of Colorado’s judges — and really serve to just give voters some information about the performance of judges.”
When do judges appear on the ballot?
Voters play an initial role two years after an appointment, deciding whether to retain — or fire — recent appointees to the state’s higher courts and to lower courts in the judicial district or county in which they live.
After that, judges stand for retention again every four years (for county judges), six years (for district judges) or eight years (for Court of Appeals judges). Supreme Court justices stand for retention every 10 years.
How many judges are on your ballot will vary
This year, three Colorado Supreme Court justices and five Court of Appeals judges up for retention will be on all ballots statewide.
The number of district and county judges you’ll vote on varies, depending on where you live. In Denver, which has its own district court (one of 22 statewide, though the state will get a 23rd in 2025), voters will decide retention questions for eight district judges and 10 county judges.
Voters in Huerfano and Las Animas counties will not vote on any judges because neither district nor county judges are up for retention.
How to sort through the judges
To take the easy route, simply go to the website for the Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation and select your county to see the judges on your ballot, along with their ratings (all favorable this year).
If you’re interested in knowing more about the judges, both the state website and the state’s Blue Book voter guide, a ballot information booklet mailed to every voter before each election, provide the full evaluations for each justice or judge on your local ballot.
How to read each evaluation
The evaluations typically follow a four-paragraph format, though there is some variance in how information is presented. The first paragraph always specifies the performance commission’s recommendation and its vote split.
Other paragraphs provide information about the judge’s court, his or her background, and the results of surveys of lawyers and others who have experience with that judge. That information may include negative impressions of the judge or concerns raised in the past by the commission, along with how well the judge addressed them.
It’s not unusual to learn that one judge is considered “intelligent, fair, and prepared for oral argument,” for example, or that another faces perceptions of favoring the prosecution in criminal cases or taking too long to issue written decisions. If a judge has been placed on an improvement plan, you’ll learn that, too.
If the commission were to recommend against retention, the judge’s response would be included at the end.
What should I do with this information?
It’s up to you, since voters weigh such information in different ways. Some might not value the kinds of criticisms leveled by attorneys, while others are more interested in trying to discern a judge’s bias or political leanings. (The state evaluation office also solicits feedback from anyone who has experience with a judge.)
Who conducts the evaluations?
The statewide judicial performance commission for Supreme Court justices and appellate judges has 11 members. Ten-member commissions evaluate district and county judges within each of 22 judicial districts. The panels are made up of six non-attorneys, with the rest of the spots filled by attorneys. Appointments are made by the governor, the state’s chief justice, the House speaker, the Senate president, and the minority party leaders of each chamber.
The commissions solicit input on the judges’ performance by sending surveys to attorneys and others who are familiar with the judges.
Possible shortcomings of the process
Some voters don’t find the evaluations helpful because of what’s not included, including judges’ disciplinary records. Colorado keeps complaints and any resulting discipline confidential, except in rare cases in which a judge is publicly censured or removed by the state Supreme Court.
The Judicial Integrity Project has pushed for years for Colorado to include disciplinary records in the commissions’ evaluations, along with other information that includes criminal histories. The group also has advocated for the addition of public testimony to the commissions’ process.
Note: This guide is adapted and updated from stories published by The Denver Post in past election cycles.
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