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Judges appointed by Jared Polis
 |
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This page lists judges appointed by Jared Polis (D) during his term as Governor of Colorado. As of today, the total number of Polis appointees was 93. For the full profile of Polis, click here.
As of January 2019, governors in Colorado were responsible for appointing judges to the seven-member supreme court and the 22-member appellate court, as well as local district courts.
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population. Some Colorado judges are outside of that coverage scope. As a result, this page does not provide an exhaustive list of all judges appointed by Gov. Polis.
Appointed judges
The tables below list the governor's appointees to the courts across the state. These lists are updated automatically with new appointments.
State Courts
Supreme Court
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Colorado Supreme Court |
January 1, 2021 - Present |
Court of Appeals
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Colorado Court of Appeals |
January 14, 2025 - Present |
|
|
Colorado Court of Appeals |
March 8, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Colorado Court of Appeals |
January 1, 2024 - Present |
|
|
Colorado Court of Appeals |
July 7, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado Court of Appeals |
November 7, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Colorado Court of Appeals |
January 1, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Colorado Court of Appeals |
May 31, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Colorado Court of Appeals |
February 27, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Colorado Court of Appeals |
March 2, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Colorado Court of Appeals |
February 13, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Colorado Court of Appeals |
November 16, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Colorado Court of Appeals |
January 1, 2024 - Present |
Local Courts
| Name | Court | Active |
|---|---|---|
|
Adams County Court |
July 17, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Adams County Court |
April 29, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Adams County Court |
January 9, 2023 - Present |
|
|
Adams County Court |
December 4, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Adams County Court |
2021 - Present |
|
|
Arapahoe County Court |
2021 - Present |
|
|
Arapahoe County Court |
2024 - Present |
|
|
Arapahoe County Court |
2023 - Present |
|
|
Arapahoe County Court |
July 1, 2022 - August 1, 2023 |
|
|
Broomfield County Court |
April 2, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 10th District Court |
February 8, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 10th District Court |
July 1, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 10th District Court |
July 1, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 12th Judicial District |
April 1, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 13th Judicial District |
October 1, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 13th Judicial District |
January 1, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 16th Judicial District |
July 2, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 17th Judicial District |
June 2, 2019 - Unknown |
|
|
Colorado 17th Judicial District |
June 7, 2025 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 17th Judicial District |
January 1, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 17th Judicial District |
August 15, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 17th Judicial District |
January 13, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 17th Judicial District |
January 23, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 17th Judicial District |
July 1, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 17th Judicial District |
July 16, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 18th Judicial District |
August 1, 2023 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 18th Judicial District |
July 1, 2023 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 18th Judicial District |
January 12, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 18th Judicial District |
February 28, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 18th Judicial District |
January 1, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 18th Judicial District |
2022 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 19th Judicial District |
September 25, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 1st Judicial District |
December 3, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 20th Judicial District |
April 1, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
May 1, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
October 5, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
November 2, 2020 - May 25, 2024 |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
July 3, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
January 10, 2023 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
January 15, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
January 10, 2023 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
September 1, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
January 1, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
March 22, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
July 1, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
2020 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
January 1, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
October 15, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 2nd Judicial District |
July 30, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 4th Judicial District |
June 30, 2022 - October 5, 2024 |
|
|
Colorado 4th Judicial District |
May 2, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 4th Judicial District |
2022 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 4th Judicial District |
October 8, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 4th Judicial District |
January 1, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 4th Judicial District |
2019 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 4th Judicial District |
January 1, 2025 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 4th Judicial District |
2022 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 4th Judicial District |
April 1, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 4th Judicial District |
September 5, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 4th Judicial District |
July 1, 2024 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 8th Judicial District |
January 12, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 8th Judicial District |
October 8, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Colorado 9th Judicial District |
October 5, 2024 - Present |
|
|
Denver Juvenile Court |
April 4, 2020 - January 19, 2024 |
|
|
Douglas County Court |
May 8, 2021 - Present |
|
|
El Paso County Court |
July 14, 2022 - Present |
|
|
El Paso County Court |
January 12, 2021 - July 1, 2024 |
|
|
El Paso County Court |
May 7, 2021 - Present |
|
|
El Paso County Court |
June 1, 2020 - Present |
|
|
El Paso County Court |
February 27, 2022 - Present |
|
|
El Paso County Court |
October 23, 2021 - Present |
|
|
El Paso County Court |
September 5, 2019 - 2022 |
|
|
Jefferson County Court Division A |
February 8, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Jefferson County Court Division B |
July 1, 2019 - Present |
|
|
Jefferson County Court Division C |
July 1, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Jefferson County Court Division D |
May 31, 2022 - Present |
|
|
Jefferson County Court Division H |
April 4, 2020 - Present |
|
|
Pitkin County Court |
November 1, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Pueblo County Court |
July 1, 2021 - Present |
|
|
Rio Grande County Court |
June 1, 2022 - Present |
Judicial selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Colorado
| Judicial selection in Colorado | |
 | |
| Colorado Supreme Court | |
| Method: | Assisted appointment |
| Term: | 2 or 10 years[1] |
| Colorado Court of Appeals | |
| Method: | Assisted appointment |
| Term: | 2 or 8 years[2] |
| Colorado District Courts | |
| Method: | Assisted appointment |
| Term: | 2 or 6 years[3] |
| Colorado County Courts | |
| Method: | Assisted appointment |
| Term: | 2 or 4 years[4] |
Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.
This article covers how state court judges are selected in Colorado, including:
- Colorado Supreme Court,
- Colorado Court of Appeals
- Colorado District Courts, and
- Limited jurisdiction courts
As of April 2025, judges for all courts in the state—except for water courts and municipal courts—were selected through assisted appointment, where the governor selects a nominee from a list provided by a nominating commission. Water court judges were designated by the supreme court and municipal court judges were selected by the municipal governing body.[5][6][7]
Click here to notify us of changes to judicial selection methods in this state.
| Appellate state court selection in the United States, by general selection method[8] |
|---|
|
|
| State courts and their selection methods across the U.S., including the District of Columbia[8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Supreme Court (of 53)[9] | Courts of Appeal (of 46) | Trial Courts (of 147) |
| Partisan elections (PE) | 8 | 6 | 39 |
| Nonpartisan elections (NPE) | 13 | 16 | 34 |
| Legislative elections (LE) | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Gubernatorial appointment of judges (GA) | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Assisted appointment (AA) | 22 | 18 | 46 |
| Combination or other | 3[10] | 1[11] | 17[12] |
State profile
| Demographic data for Colorado | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colorado | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 5,448,819 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 103,642 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 84.2% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 4% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.9% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 3.5% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 21.1% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 90.7% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 38.1% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $60,629 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 13.5% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Colorado. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Colorado
Colorado voted for the Democratic candidate in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in Colorado, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.[13]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Colorado had three Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.66 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More Colorado coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Colorado
- United States congressional delegations from Colorado
- Public policy in Colorado
- Endorsers in Colorado
- Colorado fact checks
- More...
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Initial terms are two years. Subsequent terms are 10 years.
- ↑ Initial terms are two years. Subsequent terms are 8 years.
- ↑ Initial terms are two years. Subsequent terms are 6 years.
- ↑ Initial terms are two years. Subsequent terms are 4 years.
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Judicial Selection: An Interactive Map," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Branch, "Water Courts," accessed March 28, 2023
- ↑ Justia, "2022 Colorado Code Title 13 - Courts and Court Procedure Article 10 - Municipal Courts § 13-10-105. Municipal Judge - Appointment - Removal," accessed March 28, 2023
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection," archived February 2, 2015
- ↑ Both Oklahoma and Texas have two state supreme courts: one for civil matters and one for criminal matters.
- ↑ Michigan and Ohio use nonpartisan general elections with candidates selected through partisan primaries or conventions. In the District of Columbia, judges are selected in the same manner as federal judges.
- ↑ Judges of the North Dakota Court of Appeals are appointed on an as-needed basis by the supreme court justices.
- ↑ Most courts that use combination/alternative methods (for example, mayoral appointment) are local level courts. These courts are often governed by selection guidelines that are unique to their specific region.
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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
