William W. Hood
William W. Hood is a judge of the Colorado Supreme Court. He assumed office on January 13, 2014. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.
Hood first became a member of the court by appointment. He was appointed to the court by Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) in 2013 to fill the vacancy created when former Chief Justice Michael Bender retired. Hood was sworn in on January 13, 2014.[1][2] To read more about judicial selection in Colorado, click here.
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country. As part of this study, we assigned each justice a Confidence Score describing our confidence in the degree of partisanship exhibited by the justices' past partisan behavior, before they joined the court.[3] Hood received a confidence score of Strong Democrat.[4] Click here to read more about this study.
Justice Hood was required to stand for retention in 2016 in order to serve a full term. He was retained to a 10-year term that began in January 2017 and expires on January 11, 2027.
Prior to joining the state supreme court, Hood served on the Colorado 2nd Judicial District court.
Biography
Hood received his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, in international relations from Syracuse University in 1985 and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1990.[2]
Before joining the state supreme court, Hood served as a judge on the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court. He was appointed to the district court by Gov. Bill Ritter (D) in April 2007.[5][6] Before he became a judge, Hood was a partner at the law firm of Isaacson Rosenbaum P.C. He also previously worked as a chief trial deputy and chief appellate deputy in Colorado's 18th Judicial District. As of June 2021, Hood was a fellow of the American and Colorado Bar Foundations.[2][1]
Elections
2016
- See also: Colorado judicial elections, 2016
| Colorado Supreme Court, Hood's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 William W. Hood | 70.98% | |
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State Official Certified Results | ||
2013
Hood was appointed to the Colorado Supreme Court by Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) in 2013 to fill the vacancy created when former Chief Justice Michael Bender retired. Hood was sworn in on January 13, 2014.[1]
2010
- Main article: Colorado judicial elections, 2010
Hood was retained to the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court in 2010 with 71.63% of the vote.[7]
Retention recommendation
Hood was recommended for retention to the district court by the Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation.
- Read the performance review here.
Analysis
Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship (2020)
Last updated: June 15, 2020
In 2020, Ballotpedia published Ballotpedia Courts: State Partisanship, a study examining the partisan affiliation of all state supreme court justices in the country as of June 15, 2020.
The study presented Confidence Scores that represented our confidence in each justice's degree of partisan affiliation. This was not a measure of where a justice fell on an ideological spectrum, but rather a measure of how much confidence we had that a justice was or had been affiliated with a political party. The scores were based on seven factors, including but not limited to party registration.[8]
The five resulting categories of Confidence Scores were:
- Strong Democrat
- Mild Democrat
- Indeterminate[9]
- Mild Republican
- Strong Republican
This justice's Confidence Score, as well as the factors contributing to that score, is presented below. The information below was current as of June 2020.
William
Hood
Colorado
- Partisan Confidence Score:
Strong Democrat - Judicial Selection Method:
Assisted appointment through governor controlled judicial nominating commission - Key Factors:
- Worked on a campaign for a Democrat candidate
- Donated over $2,000 to Democratic candidates
- Appointed by a Democratic governor
Partisan Profile
Details:
Hood hosted a campaign event for Gov. Bill Ritter (D). He donated over $5000.00 to Democratic candidates and organizations. Hood was appointed by Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) while Colorado was a Democratic trifecta.
Noteworthy cases
Anderson v. Griswold (2023)
- See also: Presidential election in Colorado, 2024
On December 19, 2023, Hood joined in the 4-3 Colorado Supreme Court majority ruling that excluded Donald Trump (R) from the state's presidential primary ballot. On March 4, 2024, the United States Supreme Court overruled the state supreme court's ruling.[10]
The Colorado Supreme Court reversed a Denver district court's ruling that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which "disqualifies people who have engaged in insurrection against the Constitution after having taken an oath to support it from holding office," did not apply to the presidency.[11] The majority opinion said, "A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado Secretary of State to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot."[12]
The Colorado Supreme Court was the first court in the country to determine that the 14th Amendment's disqualification clause applied to Trump. The decision was stayed until January 4, 2024, to allow for appeals. Trump's campaign said they would appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.[11]
On January 5, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision barring Trump from the state’s primary ballot. Oral arguments in the case took place on February 8, 2024.[13]
State supreme court judicial selection in Colorado
- 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.[14][15]
Initial terms last at least two years, after which justices must stand for retention in a yes-no election. Subsequent terms last 10 years.[15]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a justice must be:[16]
- 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.[17]
Vacancies
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.[15]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
|
Officeholder Colorado Supreme Court |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Denver Post, "Hickenlooper appoints Hood as new Colorado Supreme Court justice," October 25, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Colorado Judicial Branch, "William W. Hood, III," accessed June 18, 2021
- ↑ We calculated confidence scores by collecting several data points such as party registration, donations, and previous political campaigns.
- ↑ The five possible confidence scores were: Strong Democrat, Mild Democrat, Indeterminate, Mild Republican, and Strong Republican.
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Branch, "GOV. RITTER APPOINTS WILLIAM W. HOOD TO DENVER DISTRICT COURT BENCH," April 19, 2007
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Branch, "2nd Judicial District / Denver County Judges and Staff," archived January 8, 2011
- ↑ Denver County Elections, "2010 General Election, Official Election Results," accessed June 18, 2021
- ↑ The seven factors were party registration, donations made to partisan candidates, donations made to political parties, donations received from political parties or bodies with clear political affiliation, participation in political campaigns, the partisanship of the body responsible for appointing the justice, and state trifecta status when the justice joined the court.
- ↑ An Indeterminate score indicates that there is either not enough information about the justice’s partisan affiliations or that our research found conflicting partisan affiliations.
- ↑ Supreme Court, "Trump v. Anderson," accessed March 4, 2024
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The New York Times, "Trump Is Disqualified From the 2024 Ballot, Colorado Supreme Court Rules," December 19, 2023
- ↑ NBC News, "Colorado Supreme Court kicks Trump off the state's 2024 primary ballot for violating the U.S. Constitution," December 19, 2023
- ↑ The New York Times, "Justices to Decide Whether Trump Is Eligible for Colorado Ballot," January 5, 2024
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Branch, "Colorado Supreme Court," accessed March 28, 2023
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Colorado Judicial Branch, "Judicial Nominating Commissions," accessed March 28, 2023
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Branch, "What it takes to become a Judge," accessed March 28, 2023
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Colorado Supreme Court to impose term lengths for chief justice as current one retires," August 19, 2020
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
