Colorado Supreme Court justice vacancy (January 2021)
| Colorado Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Coats vacancy |
| Date: January 22, 2021 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Maria Berkenkotter |
| Date: November 20, 2020 |
Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) appointed Maria Berkenkotter to the Colorado Supreme Court on November 20, 2020. Berkenkotter was Polis' first nominee to the seven-member supreme court.[1] She succeeded Chief Justice Nathan Coats. Coats retired on January 22, 2021, when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 72.[2][3]
At the time of the vacancy, state supreme court justices were selected by the governor with help from a nominating commission, under Colorado law.
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Colorado Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- A list of finalists recommended to the governor.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- An overview of the Colorado Supreme Court.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2021.
The appointee
- See also: Maria Berkenkotter
Berkenkotter worked as an arbiter with the Judicial Arbiter Group, Inc. and as a judicial coach for the Colorado Judicial Department from 2018 to 2020. Berkenkotter was a judge for the Colorado 20th Judicial District Court from 2006 to 2017. She was appointed to the court by Governor Bill Owens (R). She served as chief judge of the court from 2013 to 2017.[1]
Before that, Berkenkotter worked in the Colorado Attorney General's Office from 1990 to 2006. She was a first assistant attorney general with the Consumer Protection Section from 2000 to 2006 and an assistant attorney general with the Regulatory Law and Consumer Protection Sections from 1990 to 2000. Berkenkotter was an associate with Holmes & Starr, P.C. from 1988 to 1990. She began her career as a clerk for Colorado Supreme Court Justice Howard Kirshbaum.[1]
Berkenkotter earned her undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University in 1984 and her J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 1987.[1]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Finalists
On November 6, 2020, the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission recommended three candidates to the governor. The nominees were:[4]
- Retired Judge Maria Berkenkotter
- Attorney Timothy Macdonald
- Attorney Andrea Wang[5]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Colorado
As of January 2021, the governor appointed the seven justices on the Colorado Supreme Court. A nominating commission would recommend three candidates for the vacant seat and the governor would select an appointee from that list. This list had to be submitted to the governor no later than 30 days after the seat became vacant, if the judge failed to file for retention, or if the Colorado secretary of state certified a negative majority vote in a retention election. If the governor failed to make an appointment from the list within 15 days, the chief justice of the Supreme Court was authorized to make the appointment from the list provided to the governor.[6]
Initial terms would last at least two years, after which justices had to stand for retention in a yes-no election. Subsequent terms would last 10 years.[7]
Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission
At the time of the vacancy, the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission would screen and recommend candidates to the governor for appointment to the Colorado Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals.
The nominating commission consisted of 15 voting members. Members included:
- one non-lawyer citizen, appointed by the governor, from each of the state's congressional districts;
- one lawyer, appointed jointly by the governor, the attorney general, and the chief justice, from each of the state's congressional districts; and
- one additional non-lawyer member, appointed by the governor.
The commission was chaired by the acting chief justice of the state supreme court, who was a non-voting member. No more than eight members (excluding the chief justice) were permitted to be members of the same political party. Each member received a six-year term upon appointment.[6]
Makeup of the court
- See also: Colorado Supreme Court
When Coats retired and Berkenkotter joined the court, the Colorado Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Monica Márquez | Appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter (D) in 2010 | |
| ■ Brian Boatright | Appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) in 2011 | |
| ■ William W. Hood | Appointed by Gov. Hickenlooper in 2013 | |
| ■ Richard Gabriel | Appointed by Gov. Hickenlooper in 2015 | |
| ■ Melissa Hart | Appointed by Gov. Hickenlooper in 2017 | |
| ■ Carlos Armando Samour Jr. | Appointed by Gov. Hickenlooper in 2018 |
About Chief Justice Coats
- See also: Nathan Coats
Chief Justice Coats joined the Colorado Supreme Court in 2000. He was appointed to the court by Gov. Bill Owens (R). Coats was selected by his peers to become the chief justice in 2018.
Before serving on the state supreme court, Coats was an appellate deputy district attorney for the Colorado 2nd Judicial District from 1986 to 2000. From 1978 to 1986, he worked in the appellate section of the Colorado attorney general's office, where he was the deputy Colorado attorney general (1983-1986) and the assistant Colorado attorney general (1978-1983). From 1977 to 1978, Coats was an associate in private practice.
Coats obtained his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Colorado in 1971. In 1977 he earned his J.D. from the University of Colorado Law School.
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.
Coats received a campaign finance score of 0.29, indicating a conservative ideological leaning. This was more conservative 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.[8]
Colorado Supreme Court
- See also: Colorado Supreme Court
Founded in 1876, the Colorado Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has seven judgeships. The current chief of the court is Monica Márquez.
As of August 2021, all seven judges on the court were appointed by Democratic governors.
The Colorado Supreme Court meets in the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center in Denver, Colorado.[9]
In Colorado, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
Other state supreme court appointments in 2021
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2021
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2021. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2020.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Colorado.gov, "Governor Polis Appoints Colorado Supreme Court Justice," November 20, 2020
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Branch, "Chief Justice Nathan B. Coats announces retirement, Justice Brian D. Boatright to serve as next Chief Justice as Colorado Supreme Court moves to rotational terms for Chief," August 19, 2020
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Branch, "Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan B. Coatsto retire, Nominating Commission sets date to select nominees," September 28, 2020
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Department, "Colorado Supreme Court justice finalists selected," November 6, 2020
- ↑ Colorado Politics, "Who are the 3 Colorado Supreme Court finalists?" November 9, 2020
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Colorado State Judicial Branch, "Colorado Constitution, Article VI, Sections 20 and 24," accessed December 10, 2013
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Colorado," accessed February 9, 2017
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Branch, "Visiting the Supreme Court," accessed August 20, 2021
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Federal courts:
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Colorado • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Colorado
State courts:
Colorado Supreme Court • Colorado Court of Appeals • Colorado District Courts • Colorado County Courts • Denver Probate Court • Denver Juvenile Court • Colorado Municipal Courts • Colorado Water Courts
State resources:
Courts in Colorado • Colorado judicial elections • Judicial selection in Colorado
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