A Judicial Performance Commission is appointed to review the performance of the judges in the Seventh Judicial District as outlined in Title 13 Section 5.5 CRS. The District Commissions are specifically outlined in CRS13-5.5-104 thru CRS 13-5.5-106. The members of the District Commission are appointed by the Speaker of the House and President of Senate (one attorney and one non-attorney) and the Chief Justice and Governor (one attorney and two non-attorneys) for a total of ten members. The members are appointed for terms of 4 years. Members may succeed themselves once.
Judges in Colorado are appointed by the Governor. The qualifications of judges is outlined in Article VI of the State Constitution with process of appointment to a judgeship outlined in the State Constitution at Article VI Section 20. District Judges are appointed to an initial two-year term and then hold office for six-year term if retained in office by voters. County Judges are appointed to an initial two-year term and then hold office for four-year terms if retain in office by voters. The term of a judge begins and or ends in January following the retention election that is only held during the regular November general election.
The duties of the Commission are to conduct an evaluation of the performance of each judge before the retention election. They do this by reviewing surveys, interviewing judges, conducting other interviews of interested individuals as they determine is required and the holding of public hearings. From the information gathered they develop for publication a narrative profile that provides a recommendation to “retain” “do not retain” or “no opinion.
www.ColoradoJudicialPerformance.gov
You may contact the committee by writing to:
Judicial Performance Commission
Seventh Judicial District
Montrose County Justice Center
Courts Building
1200 North Grand Avenue, Bin A
Montrose, Colorado 81401
Or by contacting:
JDA – Committee Staff at phone (970) 252-4359; fax (970) 252-4345