Colorado Supreme Court elections, 2008

2008 State Supreme Court Elections
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Supreme Courts Overview

On November 4, 2008, two Colorado Supreme Court justices, Justice Eid and Justice Hobbs, were up for a retention vote. Colorado voters elected to retain both justices. Eid was retained with 74.6 percent of the vote and Hobbs was retained with 72.4 percent of the vote.

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Colorado

The seven justices on the Colorado Supreme Court are selected through the assisted appointment method. Each justice is appointed by the governor from a list of names compiled by the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission.

Initial terms last at least two years, after which justices must stand for retention in a yes-no election. Subsequent terms last 10 years.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a justice must be:

• a qualified elector in the state;
• licensed to practice law in the state for five years; and
• under the age of 72 (retirement by 72 is mandatory).

Chief justice

The chief justice of the supreme court is selected by peer vote. Beginning in January 2021, the chief justice began serving for a set term on a rotating basis. Previously, the chief justice served indefinitely as long as he or she had the support of his or her peers.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a justice's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends to the governor three qualified candidates for an appellate court vacancy (two or three for a trial court vacancy), and the governor selects a successor from that list. After occupying the seat for two years, the newly appointed justice stands for retention in the next general election. The justice then serves a full 10-year term if he or she is retained by voters.

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

Judicial Opinions

Allison Eid

Upon announcing Eid's appointment to the court, Governor Bill Owens (R) said, "She will interpret the law as it is written, stand firm on legal principles and carry out her duties in a professional and collegial manner." The section below details some of Eid's opinions.

• Hanover School District No. 28 v. Barbour (2007)

In this case, Eid authored a dissenting opinion that objected to the majority's finding that a teacher was entitled to an entire year of back pay where he had not lost a year's salary since he immediately found another job upon learning that his contract was not going to be renewed. The opinion said, "Colorado law is clear that breach of employment contract damages are to be offset by earnings from alternative employment."

• People v. Arias (2007)

In this case, Eid dissented from the majority opinion which concluded that a police officer's search of a defendant and his vehicle resulting in the discovery of marijuana and cocaine was unconstitutional because the officer's stop was predicated only on the belief that the tree-shaped air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror unlawfully obstructed the driver's vision. In the dissent, Eid said the case should have been remanded to the trial court because the vagueness of the statute prevented the court from making factual findings. The opinion said, "I would resolve the vagueness question by holding that the statute prohibits only those obstructions that hinder the driver’s view in an unsafe manner. Because I would remand the case for consideration of the facts under this standard, I respectfully dissent from the court’s opinion."

• In re Phillips (2006)

In this case, Eid dissented from the majority opinion in which the court adopted the "reverse piercing of the corporate veil" doctrine, allowing a plaintiff to recover against a corporation for the liabilities of one of its shareholders (opposed to traditional "piercing of the corporate veil" which involves recovery against a shareholder for liabilities of a corporation). The majority opinion said, "In summation, we conclude that outside reverse piercing is appropriate when a claimant demonstrates that a controlling insider and a corporation are alter egos of each other and justice requires recognizing the substance of that relationship over the form to achieve an equitable result."

In the dissenting opinion, Eid said, "Given that the effect on the expectations of Colorado corporate shareholders and creditors could be substantial, I am unwilling to adopt reverse veil-piercing in a contextual void."

For more information see the full article on Justice Eid at this link.

Gregory J. Hobbs, Jr.

Hobbs was appointed to the court by Governor Roy Romer (D) in 1996. The Colorado Judicial Branch said, "During much of his time on the Court, he was widely, and deservedly, regarded as the Court’s leading expert on natural resources and water law."

He ruled with the majority opinion in Hanover School District No. 28 v. Barbour (2007), People v. Arias (2007), and In re Phillips (2006)|Phillips.

• Flood v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, LLC (2008)

Hobbs authored the majority opinion in this case which created a new standard of law to apply to debt collection cases. Under this standard, correspondence from creditors would have to convey notices so that all consumers could understand it. In the opinion, Hobbs said, "The peculiar wording of the debt collection communication in this case leads the least sophisticated consumer into believing that oral communication alone will suffice to trigger all of her rights under the statute."

Eid's dissent said, "In my view, the majority's holding today-which penalizes MAB for permitting consumers to contact it by phone and for giving consumers additional time to consider a settlement offer after they dispute a debt-may well harm consumers in the long run."

For more information see the full article on Justice Hobbs at this link.

Performance reviews

In 1988, the Colorado General Assembly created Commissions on Judicial Performance to provide voters with evaluations of trial and appellate judges and justices seeking retention in general elections.

Eid

Click here to see Eid's 2008 performance evaluation.

Hobbs

Click here to see Hobbs' 2008 performance evaluation.

External links

• Colorado Judicial Performance Commission
• Colorado Supreme Court website
• League of Women Voters: Colorado Judicial Polling Report on Voter Knowledge, 2007