Colorado’s judicial system is one of the best in the country. Colorado voters wisely put into the state constitution a series of reforms in the 1960s, including commissions that guide the nonpartisan, nonpolitical selection and evaluation of our state’s Supreme Court, and appellate, district and county court judges.
These commissions are made up of volunteers, lawyers and non-lawyers who review judicial applications in the selection process and performance reviews for judges in the evaluation process. Once a judge is in office, voters have the final say to retain, or not, judges who are up for retention.
A third, and critical, part of this process is a system of judicial discipline that evaluates any allegation that a judge engaged in improper conduct. It too relies on a volunteer commission, made up of citizens, lawyers and judges. They evaluate allegations and impose private discipline when warranted, and recommend public discipline in more serious cases, which the Colorado Supreme Court ultimately imposes or rejects.
As chair and vice chair of the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline, we’ve had front-row seats for some of the challenges our courts and judges have faced in recent years. Our experiences, and our strong belief in the wisdom of our judicial system in Colorado, are the bases of our strong support for Amendment H, which voters statewide will see on their ballots.
Like every institution in the country, our courts face challenges. Population growth, the pandemic, growing complexity of laws and regulations, strained budgets and more put increasing pressure on our courts and the staff and judges who work there.
High-profile cases and allegations of wrong-doing at the Colorado Supreme Court led the General Assembly to conduct a series of hearings into the judicial discipline process. Much needed updates and reforms were passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and are being implemented to make the judicial discipline process more fair, independent and transparent. One measure, because it seeks to amend the state constitution, requires voter approval, and we urge Coloradans to vote “yes” on Amendment H.
Amendment H makes two significant changes to the current system. Combined with actions the legislature has already taken, Amendment H will help improve our current system of judicial discipline.
Currently, the commission investigates evidence of alleged violations by judges of the canons of judicial conduct, and can impose private discipline if a violation is found. If the commission believes more severe penalties are warranted, it recommends public discipline. At that point, the state Supreme Court appoints “special masters” to review the case and recommend discipline or dismissal, which is then imposed by the Supreme Court.
Amendment H takes that power away from the Supreme Court and puts it in the hands of an independent board made up of 12 civilians, lawyers and judges to conduct formal judicial misconduct hearings and impose disciplinary actions if appropriate. This means that an independent group will impose discipline, rather than the current system where the Supreme Court has significant influence.
The second major change is that Amendment H would create more transparency by allowing more information to be shared earlier with the public. Currently most discipline cases are confidential unless very specific conditions are met.
In the legislature, Amendment H passed with overwhelming bipartisan margins. It has the support of leading legal, civic and judicial organizations across the state. It will make our judicial system better, more fair, more independent and more transparent. We hope you will join us in supporting Amendment H.
Mary (Mindy) Sooter of Boulder is the chair and an attorney member of the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline.
Jim Carpenter of Englewood is vice chair and a citizen member of the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline.
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