Voters: Do you know your local judges better or worse than these complete strangers from another country and another time? This page includes links to information about the judges up for retention on this year’s ballot.
So, we get to the part of the ballot every two years where we vote on whether or not to retain judges, and most of us don’t really know how to vote. I’ll admit it if you will.
But there is information available in advance of getting your ballot! Colorado has an Office on Judicial Performance Evaluation accessible at this link, where anyone with internet access can read summaries or lengthy reports about the performance of any judge up for retention.
Instead of holding public elections for judge positions, judges in Colorado are appointed by the Governor of Colorado from a list of candidates submitted by nominating commissions relevant to the level of judgeship (i.e., a Supreme Court commission nominates potential Supreme Court judges, or a District Court commission nominates local judges).
All judges stand for retention election after serving a two-year provisional term. County court judges then stand every four years, district court judges every six years, court of appeals judges every eight years, and Supreme Court justices every ten years.
If judges “win” their retention election with a simple majority of votes, they will go on to serve another term. There are no term limits, but there is mandatory retirement at age 72. But according to the Colorado Constitution, “If a majority of those voting on the question vote “No”, this will cause a vacancy to exist in that office at the end of his then present term of office.” That means the judge will be removed from office, and the replacement will be filled by nominations from a nominating committee and a Governor’s appointment.
Below is a list of judges from Boulder County who will be up for retention in 2022, and for those who don’t want to spend a lot of time on this you’ll notice that they’re all categorized as meeting performance standards. But for those who want to make a more informed decision, you can click their name for a link to a roughly one-page summary of the standards they met, along with some of their professional history, plus the webpage will also include a link to a longer Retention Survey Report.
Colorado Court of Appeals
Honorable Jaclyn Casey Brown: Meets Performance Standards
Honorable Terry Fox: Meets Performance Standards
Honorable Christina Finzel Gomez: Meets Performance Standards
Honorable Matthew D. Grove: Meets Performance Standards
Honorable Sueanna P. Johnson: Meets Performance Standards
Honorable Lino S. Lipinsky de Orlov: Meets Performance Standards
Honorable Neeti V. Pawar: Meets Performance Standards
Honorable David H. Yun: Meets Performance Standards
Judicial District 20 District Court
Honorable Andrew Hartman: Meets Performance Standards
Honorable Bruce Langer: Meets Performance Standards
Boulder County County Court
Honorable David A. Archuleta: Meets Performance Standards
Honorable Elizabeth House Moulton Brodsky: Meets Performance Standards
Honorable Zachary Ilya Malkinson: Meets Performance Standards
Honorable Kristy Allyne Martinez: Meets Performance Standards
Richard’s Take
I won’t offer recommendations here about how to vote, except to gently remind readers that a “no” vote literally risks getting a judge fired. Voting “no” is a legitimate choice if voters have a good reason to remove a judge from office, but I won’t recommend doing it without doing research worthy of a very serious decision. I would hope you’d want the same out of your judges.
