Our Mission Statement
The Colorado Judicial Institute's mission is to preserve and enhance the independence and excellence of Colorado courts, to further public understanding of the Colorado judicial system, and to ensure that the courts meet the needs of the people.
Founded in 1979, CJI's original mission was quite limited: to protect and improve Colorado's Merit Selection system for judges and to educate the public about the system. In the ensuing decades, the Colorado Judicial institute has expanded our focus to include not only public education, but research projects into the the effectiveness of court procedures, research into the experiences of citizens appearing before the court, continuing professional education for judges and judicial department staff, the appropriate use of alternative dispute resolution, and public policy efforts in support of needed court improvements and projects.
In order to effectively achieve our mission, CJI relies upon the work of specialized committees that take on activities in support of one or more of our mission areas. Please visit the Activities Page to get more details about CJI Committee.
CJI Positions
CJI supports merit selection, judicial performance evaluation, and retention elections as having an appropriate balance of accountability and independence.
CJI supports public education about the judiciary believing that an educated public is crucial to supporting judicial independence as a component of the separations of powers.
CJI supports the appropriate use of alternative dispute resolution.
CJI supports continuing education for judicial officers and judicial department staff as a critical component of judicial excellence.
CJI supports research into best practices and innovative programs to best serve the citizens of Colorado and improve efficiency and effectiveness.
CJI supports consistent, fair funding of the judicial department.
CJI supports community involvement with the judiciary in the forms of service on nominating and evaluations commissions as well as educational program.
