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Alex Martinez (Colorado)
Alex J. Martinez is a former Associate Justice on the seven member Colorado Supreme Court. He was first appointed to this position in January of 1997 after being nominated by the Supreme Court Nominating Commission and appointed by Governor Roy Romer. He was successfully retained in 2000 and 2010. His last term was set to end in January of 2021, but he retired from the court on October 31, 2011.[1][2] During his retirement he plans to work as Denver's safety manager which oversees the city's fire and police departments.[3]
Education
Martinez received a B.A. from the University of Colorado in 1973, and a J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law in 1976.[1]
Professional career
After his admission to the bar in 1976 Martinez became a Deputy State Public Defender in Denver. In 1979, he went worked as a supervisor for the Pueblo Office of the State Public Defender. Martinez was appointed to the Pueblo County Court by Governor Richard Lamm in 1983 beginning his career as a judge. In 1988, Governor Roy Romer promoted Martinez to the Colorado 10th District Court. Romer again promoted Martinez in January of 1997 to the Colorado Supreme Court where he served until October 2011.[1]
Awards and associations
Awards
- William Lee Knous Award
- Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement, University of Colorado School of Law
- Pioneer In the Hispanic Community Award, Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Lifetime Achievement Award, Colorado Hispanic Bar Association
Associations
- Board of Trustees, Reed College
- Board of Directors, Servicios de la Raza[1]
Elections
2010
| Colorado Supreme Court, Associate Justice 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
Alex Martinez 
|
859,051 | 60% | ||
| Against retention | 584,026 | 40% | ||
- Click here for 2010 General Election Results from the Colorado Secretary of State.
- Main article: Colorado judicial elections, 2010
This is the lowest percentage of "retain" votes received by an incumbent supreme court justice in state history.
There is a movement headed by judicial reform organization Clear the Bench Colorado not to retain Justice Martinez, along with the other two justices up for a 2010 retention vote. (Originally three, but Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey resigned before the elections)[4] Critics of the court say "the majority of the justices' rulings on property taxes, eminent domain and congressional redistricting have violated the state's constitution or are clearly partisan".[5]
Performance Evaluations
The Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation voted 9-1 to recommend Martinez for retention. The COJPE reviews the answers of attorneys and District Judges and asked a variety of questions to determine the Judge's performance. The score is rated on a 4 point scale similar to school grades. Since 1990, which was the first election year after the statutory creation of judicial performance commissions and the use of performance evaluations, all Colorado Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges standing for retention have received do retain recommendations.[6] Until 2010 no additional information on judicial performance has been made available to the public.
| Question classification | Attorney score | District Judge score | Combined average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Impartiality | 3.35 | 3.29 | 3.32 |
| Clear opinions | 3.19 | 3.08 | 3.14 |
| Adequate explanation of opinion | 3.33 | 3.46 | 3.4 |
| Timely response | 3.24 | 3.29 | 3.27 |
| Response without criticism | 3.6 | 3.58 | 3.59 |
| Response based on law | 3.25 | 3.37 | 3.31 |
| Not ruling on extra issues | 3.28 | 3.28 | 3.28 |
| Respect towards all parties | 3.71 | 3.74 | 3.73 |
| No ex parte communications | 3.87 | 3.76 | 3.82 |
| Overall | 3.35 | 3.43 | 3.39 |
- Clear the Bench Colorado also conducted a review of Justice Martinez's judicial performance which can be found here.
Political Affiliations and Campaign Contributions
Justice Alex Martinez is listed as "nonpartisan." Because Colorado does not hold judicial elections, judges are selected on "merit" by the governor, Justice Martinez has no campaign contributions.[8]
Council recognizes Justice Martinez
Justice Alex J. Martinez has been recognized by the Colorado Freedom of Information Council (CFOIC) for his efforts to maximize public access to records of the courts contained in the Integrated Colorado Online Network (ICON), the Judicial Branch’s case management computer system. Justice Martinez is the chairman of the Supreme Court Public Access Committee.[9] “The Public Access Committee has been on a mission to refine both our information systems and our policies for convenient public access to those systems,” says Justice Martinez. “We seek to achieve a balance between the public’s interest in access to information and the individual’s privacy interests.”
Notable rulings of Alex Martinez |
|---|
On Contract Enforcement
On Criminal Justice
On Illegal Immigration
On Property Rights
|
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Martinez received a campaign finance score of -0.27, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was less liberal than the average score of -0.29 that justices received in Colorado.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[10]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Colorado State Judicial Branch
- ↑ Colorado Supreme Court website
- ↑ Law Week Online "Justice Alex Martinez To Move From Bench To Hot Seat" 24 August 2011
- ↑ Clear the Bench Colorado website
- ↑ Denver Post "Four Supreme Court justices face a tough vote in elections," February 15, 2010
- ↑ Email correspondence with Jane B. Howell, Executive Director of the CCJPE, Aug 27, 2010
- ↑ Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation, Review of Justice Martinez
- ↑ Follow The Money
- ↑ Colorado Courts Newsletter
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
