Colorado Supreme Court justice vacancy (January 2026)
| Colorado Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Hart vacancy |
| Date: January 5, 2026 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Susan Blanco |
| Date: February 17, 2026 |
On February 17, 2026, Governor Jared Polis (D) appointed Susan Blanco to the Colorado Supreme Court. Blanco replaces Justice Melissa Hart, who retired on January 5, 2026.[1] Blanco is Gov. Polis' (D) second nominee to the seven-member supreme court. She took office on the same date as her appointment.
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.
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.[2]
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.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2026.
The appointee
- See also: Susan Blanco
Blanco earned her bachelor's degree from Colorado State University and her J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law. She has worked as a private practice attorney and the attorney for the Town of Timnath.[3]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Finalists
On February 5, 2026, the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission released a list of three applicants who passed the interview phase of the succession process. The finalists were sent to Gov. Jared Polis (D) who will make the final appointment within 15 days. The finalists were:[4]
- District court Judge Susan Blanco
- Colorado Deputy Solicitor General Andrea Wang
- District court Judge Chris Zenisek[5]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Colorado
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.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Colorado Supreme Court
Justices
Following Hart's retirement, the Colorado Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Maria Berkenkotter | Appointed by Gov. Jared Polis (D) in 2020 | |
| ■ Brian Boatright | Appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) in 2011 | |
| ■ Richard Gabriel | Appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) in 2015 | |
| ■ William W. Hood | Appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) in 2013 | |
| ■ Monica Márquez | Appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter (D) in 2010 | |
| ■ Carlos Armando Samour Jr. | Appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) in 2018 |
About the 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 February 2026, 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.[6]
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.
About Justice Hart
- See also: Melissa Hart
Hart grew up in Denver, Colorado. She received a B.A. from Harvard-Radcliffe College in 1991 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1995.[3][7]
Hart clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi of the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit and for Justice John Paul Stevens of the United States Supreme Court. She was an associate at Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue and a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Division. Hart then worked as a professor at the University of Colorado Law School from 2000 to 2017, when she was appointed to the state supreme court. At the university, she directed the Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law.[3][7]
Hart was a founding member of the Sonia Sotomayor Inn of Court. As of 2021, she was a commissioner on the Colorado Access to Justice Commission.[3]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2026
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2026
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2026. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2025.
| 2026 State Supreme Court Vacancies |
|---|
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Branch, "Justice Melissa Hart announces retirement from Colorado Supreme Court," December 19, 2026
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Branch, "Judicial Nominating Commissions," accessed March 28, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbio - ↑ Note: Finalists are listed in alphabetical order by last name.
- ↑ Colorado Newsline, "Three finalists named to become new Colorado Supreme Court justice," February 5, 2026
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Branch, "Visiting the Supreme Court," accessed August 20, 2021
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedpr
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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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