Colorado Supreme Court

• Colorado Supreme Court
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Colorado Supreme Court
Court information
Justices:	7
Founded:	1876
Judicial selection
Method:	Comm. select., Gov. appt.
Active justices
Michael Bender  •  Nathan Coats  •  Nancy Rice  •  Allison Eid  •  Gregory Hobbs  •  Brian Boatright  •  Monica Marquez  •
Former justices

Founded on August 1, 1876, the Colorado Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort.

Justices

The current justices of the court are:

Judge	Term	Appointed by	Party
Chief Justice Michael Bender	1997-2021	Roy Romer
Justice Nathan Coats	2000-2023	Gov. Bill Owens
Justice Nancy Rice	1998-2021	Roy Romer
Justice Allison Eid	2006-2019	Bill Owens
Justice Gregory Hobbs	1996-2019	Roy Romer
Justice Brian Boatright	2011-2014	Gov. John Hickenlooper	Republican
Justice Monica Marquez	2010-2015	Bill Ritter

Jurisdiction

Article VI of the Colorado Constitution gives the Colorado Supreme Court appellate jurisdiction over potentially unconstitutional statutes, writs of habeas corpus, and criminal appeals. The court also has special jurisdiction over any cases involving the Public Utilities Commission, water rights, summary proceedings of the Election Code and over attorney and judge regulation. The court is the governing authority of the State Court Administrator, Board of Continuing Legal Education, Board of Law Examiners, Commission on Judicial Discipline, and Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee.

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Colorado

In 1966, voters in Colorado passed the constitutional amendment providing that state judges be appointed by the governor. Within 30 days of a vacancy, the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission must meet, select its nominees, and submit the names to the governor. The judge must stand for retention in the next general election more than two years after taking office.

The Chief Justice is elected by their peers. The Chief Justice also serves as the executive head of the state judicial system and is the ex-officio chair of the Supreme Court Nominating Commission. The Chief Justice has the responsibility of appointing a Chief Judge for the Court of Appeals and each of the state’s District Courts.

Qualifications

Minimum qualifications for appointment to the court are:

• Elector of Colorado.
• Licensed to practice law in Colorado for at least five years prior.
• Under the age of 72 when their name is submitted.

Removal of justices

Judges may be removed in multiple ways:

• On the recommendation of the judicial discipline commission the Supreme Court may remove, retire, suspend, censure, reprimand, or discipline a judge.
• Impeached by a majority vote of the Colorado House of Representatives and convicted by a two-thirds vote of the Colorado State Senate.
• Lose a retention election.

Caseloads

Fiscal Year	Cases filed	Cases Terminated	Cases pending June 30	Cases pending July 1	Total filings
2010	1,518	1,554	425	461	1,979
2009	1,643	1,554	461	372	2,015
2008	1,657	1,760	372	475	2,132
2007	1,534	1,450	475	391	1,925

Salaries

The Associate Justices of the court receive $139,660 annually, while the Chief Justice makes $142,708.

Notable decisions

On Illegal Immigration: Initiative #55

On December 31, 2003, the "Defend Colorado Now" initiative was introduced, which, if passed, would have prohibited illegal immigrants from receiving public services except those required by the federal government. The bill was defeated. The initiative was re-filed in 2006, and the court issued a 4-2 ruling that the initiative "violated the state's single-subject rule and therefore could not be on the upcoming ballot." Justice Martinez wrote the majority decision, with Justices Mullarkey, Hobbs, and Bender concurring; Justices Coats and Rice dissented. Justice Eid recused herself. According to the Rocky Mountain News, Justice Martinez wrote "that the measure asks voters to approve two subjects: decreasing taxpayer funds for medical and social services, and restricting "administrative services" such as registering a vehicle or filing property deeds with the county recorder." On June 29, 2006, Governor Owens called a special legislative session to address the court's denial of the initiative. The result of this is that the inititative went to vote for all Coloradans to determine.

History of the court

The Denver Post building, which houses the Colorado Supreme Court

In 1861, the "Territory of Jefferson," or what is now Colorado, was officially recognized by the Union. The first court session was held on July 10, 1861. When Colorado was admitted to the Union in 1876, its constitution "provided for a Supreme Court with a bench of three justices, as well as four judicial districts, with one judge serving each."

Structure through time

1876: 4 judicial districts; 1 judge in each 1881: 7 judicial districts; 1 judge in each 1887: 9 judicial districts; 1 judge in each, except Arapahoe County (including Denver) with 2 1891: 13 judicial districts; first Court of Appeals 1893: 2nd judge is given to the Pueblo area 1895: 2nd judge is given to the Colorado Springs area 1905: Supreme Court is given 7 justices; the first Court of Appeals is abolished 1913: Second Court of Appeals is established, and lasts for four years

1917: Second Court of Appeals is abolished 1921: Court grows to 14 judicial districts 1945: Court grows to 15 judicial districts 1953: Court grows to 16 judicial districts 1958: Court grows to 18 judicial districts 1963: Court grows to 22 judicial districts--which is its present number 1970: Third and current Court of Appeals was established 1977: Supreme Court and Court of Appeals moved into current building 2006: 275 judges statewide: 7 Supreme Court justices, 19 in the Court of Appeals, 144 district court judges, 105 county courts

Notable firsts

• Justice Gregory K. Scott was the first African American appointed to the Court, where he served from January 15, 1993 until 2000.
• Justice Jean E. Dubofsky was the first woman appointed to the Court, where she served from 1979 until 1987.
• Justice Alex Martinez was the first Hispanic appointed to the Court, where he served from 1997 until October 2011.
• Justice Monica Marquez is the first Hispanic female and the first openly gay judge appointed to the Court, where she was appointed in 2010.

Judicial term limits

In 2008, a ballot measure was proposed, the Judicial Term Limits Initiative, that would limit the terms of judges in Colorado. The official ballot initiative reads:

"An amendment to the Colorado constitution limiting terms for state court judges, and, in connection therewith, making a full term of office four years for justices of the supreme court, judges of the court of appeals, district court judges, county court judges, judges of the probate and juvenile courts of Denver, and any other state court judge with jurisdiction inferior to the supreme court; and limiting judges who are retained after January 1, 2010, from serving for more than three full terms of office at the same judicial level after January 1, 2010."

This initiative did not make it to the ballot.

See also

• Courts in Colorado
• Judicial selection in Colorado
• Colorado judicial news
• Colorado blogs
• News: Colorado Supreme Court strikes down limits on political committee contributions, February 24, 2012

External links

• The Colorado Supreme Court: Independence or Activism?
• Supreme Court
• Colorado Bar Association
• Colorado Supreme Court Justices
• Colorado Supreme Court Library
• Findlaw - Colorado Supreme Court opinions
• Colorado Appeals blog, a blog that discusses every new decision of the Colorado Supreme Court and Colorado Court of Appeals
• Initiative #55 (2006)
• Clear The Bench Colorado - judicial accountability and reform movement

References

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2010

Colorado Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Michael Bender		872,387	60.4%
Against retention		571,029	39.6%

Colorado Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Nancy Rice		891,962	62%
Against retention		548,633	38%

Colorado Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Alex Martinez		859,051	60%
Against retention		584,026	40%

Colorado Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2010 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Allison Eid		1,338,571	74.6%
Against retention		456,337	25.4%

• Click here for 2010 General Election Results from the Colorado Secretary of State.

2008

Colorado Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2008 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Gregory Hobbs		1,282,348	72.4%
Against retention		489,429	27.6%

• Click here (scroll to page 120) for 2008 General Election Results from the Colorado Secretary of State.

2002

Colorado Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2002 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
Nathan Coats		828,622	74.3%
Against retention		286,961	25.7%

• Click here (scroll to page 129) for 2002 General Election Results from the Colorado Secretary of State.