Colorado Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Judicial Merit Selection
November 8, 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of Colorado’s judicial merit selection system. On this day in 1966, Colorado voters approved the judicial merit selection system constitutional amendment taking judges out of politics. Prior to 1966, individuals seeking judicial office had to court political sponsors, bear a party label, raise funds often from lawyers who might appear before them and campaign for office. Access to fair and impartial justice under the constitutions and laws of the United States and the state of Colorado is the most fundamental purpose of the legal profession and the judiciary. A judge appointed through merit selection does not have to consider what interest group might be offended or benefited when making a decision. The judge listens to the evidence, studies the law and focuses on rendering fair and impartial judgment in the case.
Thank you to the individuals and organizations who had the foresight and the perseverance to take judges out of politics.
Interested in Becoming More Involved in
the Colorado Judicial Institute?
Join one of our committees! Contact our Executive Director, Amy Ostheimer, at Amy@ColoradoJudicialInstitute.org for additional information.
Interested in becoming more involved in CJI? Click here for our list of committees.
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Family Law Committee Report: Parent Perceptions
“Parents' Voices: The Other Side of the Bench” was released in July 2011. The report, conducted over a two year period, uses surveys and interviews of parents who were involved in dependency and neglect proceedings in Colorado courts. The report is available for download below.
