Q: How are judges in Colorado evaluated?
A: Nonpartisan groups called judicial performance commissions review and evaluate how well judges are doing their jobs by looking at many different pieces of information.
Q: What are judicial performance commissions?
A: Judicial performance commissions are groups of people who evaluate how well judges are doing their jobs. The commissions are nonpartisan, meaning they are not influenced by politics, and they are made up of a mix of attorneys and other citizens who are not attorneys.
Each of Colorado’s 22 judicial districts has a commission that evaluates county court and district court judges, and there is a statewide commission that evaluates court of appeals judges and supreme court justices.
Q: How do judicial performance commissions evaluate judges?
A: Judicial performance commissions gather information from many different sources, including:
- Surveys of people who have had contact with the judge. This may include attorneys, people who have appeared before the judge, jurors, witnesses, court staff, police officers, and probation officers.
- Self-evaluation by the judge.
- Information from observing the judge in the courtroom.
- Review of the judge’s written work including decisions.
- Interviews with the judge.
The commissions consider factors such as the judge’s legal knowledge, temperament, fairness and impartiality, integrity, ability to communicate, administration of their courtroom, timeliness of their rulings, and service to the public.
The commissions ultimately decide whether the judge "Meets" or "Does Not Meet" judicial performance standards, and they write a brief report that is provided to voters in the ballot information booklet, also known as the voter “Blue Book.”
Performance evaluation reports and survey results about judges may also be found online at KnowYourJudge.com.
The results of the performance evaluations are also provided to judges so they may improve their professional skills as judicial officers.
Q: Do the commissions review individual cases of judges?
A: The commissions review some decisions as part of the overall evaluation of the judge's legal knowledge, reasoning, and communications. But the commissions do not have the authority to change the judge's decision in any particular case. A judge's decisions may be challenged only through appeal to a higher court, and that is a different process.
Q: How many judges meet judicial performance standards?
A: The commissions find that most judges meet performance standards. Perhaps this is not surprising given Colorado's judicial merit selection system, in which judges are selected based on their qualifications and experience. Also, judges engage in continuing legal education throughout their careers.
Q: Why are judges on the ballot in Colorado?
A: Periodically, Colorado voters get to decide whether to keep judges in office in what is called a retention election. This is a nonpartisan election in which there is no opposing candidate and voters are asked to vote yes or no about whether each judge should be kept, or “retained,” in office.
In general, judges are not permitted to campaign for retention.
Judges must receive a simple majority of yes votes to be retained. If a judge does not receive a majority of yes votes, then they must step down, and the process for filling the vacant position begins.
(See also "Explainer: How are judges selected in Colorado?")
Q: How many judges are retained in these retention elections? Are judges ever not retained?
A: Colorado's voters retain most judges. In the 2022 elections, 134 out of 135 judges were retained. And since 1990, only five judges have not been retained.*
Perhaps this is not surprising given Colorado's judicial merit selection system, in which judges are selected based on their qualifications and experience.
Another factor is that some judges—five in 2022 and four in 2024—chose not to stand for retention after receiving their performance evaluation.
(*Source: Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation, SMART Report, found here.)
For more information about judicial performance commissions, or to volunteer to serve on one, visit this website:
- Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation, https://judicialperformance.colorado.gov. Click the “Get Involved” tab to volunteer.
