Voters: Do you know your local judges better or worse than these complete strangers from another country? Whether we know them or not, voters have the chance to vote on retaining them in office, and judges can be removed through this process!
So, we all 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 of Judicial Performance Evaluation, with information about 2024 judges available at the link below:
https://judicialperformance.colorado.gov/2024-judicial-performance-evaluations
Anyone with internet access can read summaries or lengthy reports about the performance of any judge up for retention at this link.
Instead of holding public elections to select judges, 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).
But we, the people, can vote on whether to retain judges or not. All judges stand for retention elections 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 a judge who “loses” their election 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 who will be on this year’s Boulder County ballot as up for retention in 2024. 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 Supreme Court
Justice Maria E. Berkenkotter: Meets Performance Standards
Justice Brian D. Boatright: Meets Performance Standards
Justice Monica M. Márquez: Meets Performance Standards
Colorado Court of Appeals
Judge Stephanie Dunn: Meets Performance Standards
Judge Jerry N. Jones: Meets Performance Standards
Judge W. Eric Kuhn: Meets Performance Standards
Judge Gilbert M. Román: Meets Performance Standards
Judge Timothy J. Schutz: Meets Performance Standards
Judicial District 20 District Court
Judge J. Keith Collins: Meets Performance Standards
Judge Robert R. Gunning: Meets Performance Standards
Judge Dea Marie Lindsey: Meets Performance Standards
Judge Thomas Frances Mulvahill: Meets Performance Standards
Boulder County: County Court
Judge Jonathon P. Martin: Meets Performance Standard
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.
