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Colorado Court of Appeals
The Colorado Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court in Colorado. It was established in 1891, abolished in 1905, re-established in 1913, re-abolished in 1917 and established in its current form in 1970. It consists of 22 appointed judges who, after their initial appointment, are then subject to a retention election every eight years thereafter. Their terms end on the second Tuesday in January.[1][2]
The court is divided into three-judge panels to preside over cases. The chief judge assigns the judges to different divisions and rotates their assignments. The court typically issues its decisions on Thursday mornings, with case announcements posted on the court's website usually by 8:00 a.m.[3]
| Colorado Court of Appeals | |||
 | |||
| Court information | |||
| Judges: | 22 | ||
| Founded: | 1891, 1970[4] | ||
| Salary: | Associates: $212,535[5] | ||
| Judicial selection | |||
| Method: | Assisted appointment | ||
| Term: | 8 years | ||
Jurisdiction
Established by Section 1 of Article VI of the Colorado Constitution, the mission of the Colorado Court of Appeals is to "provide the citizens of Colorado with clear, impartial, and timely resolutions of appealed orders and judgments as provided by law."[6]
The Colorado Court of Appeals hears most of the direct appeals from the Colorado district courts, the Denver Probate Court and the Denver Juvenile Court. It also hears appeals from some of Colorado's administrative agencies. Any review of court of appeals' decisions is conducted by the Colorado Supreme Court.[6]
Judges
Publication of decisions
The court issues published and unpublished decisions. It releases its published decisions on alternate weeks and its unpublished decisions every week. Published decisions are made available on the court's website with their full text; the list of unpublished decisions is also made available on that website. An online form on the Court of Appeals' website allows users to request copies of unpublished decisions by email.[7]
Judicial selection
Colorado Court of Appeals judges are appointed by the governor from a list of names compiled by a nominating commission. Initial terms last at least two years, after which judges must stand for retention in yes-no elections. Subsequent terms last eight years.[8]
The court's chief judge is appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court to serve indefinitely.[8]
- See also: Assisted appointment
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must be:
- a qualified elector in Colorado
- licensed to practice law in Colorado for five years
- under the age of 72 (retirement by 72 is mandatory)[8]
Elections
2016
Judges who faced retention
■ Karen M. Ashby 
■ Michael Berger
■ Steve Bernard
■ Stephanie Erin Dunn
■ David Furman
■ Robert Hawthorne
■ Jerry N. Jones
■ Anthony Navarro
■ Gilbert Roman
■ Diana Terry
Election results
November 8 general election
| Colorado Court of Appeals, Ashby's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Karen M. Ashby | 69.25% | |
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State Official Certified Results | ||
| Colorado Court of Appeals, Berger's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Michael Berger | 68.91% | |
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State Official Certified Results | ||
| Colorado Court of Appeals, Bernard's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Steve Bernard | 63.35% | |
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State Official Certified Results | ||
| Colorado Court of Appeals, Dunn's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Stephanie Erin Dunn | 71.10% | |
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State Official Certified Results | ||
| Colorado Court of Appeals, Furman's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| David Furman | 70.45% | |
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State Official Certified Results | ||
| Colorado Court of Appeals, Hawthorne's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Robert Hawthorne | 70.63% | |
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State Official Certified Results | ||
| Colorado Court of Appeals, Jones' seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Jerry N. Jones | 60.87% | |
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State Official Certified Results | ||
| Colorado Court of Appeals, Navarro's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Anthony Navarro | 65.52% | |
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State Official Certified Results | ||
| Colorado Court of Appeals, Roman's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Gilbert Roman | 71.04% | |
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State Official Certified Results | ||
| Colorado Court of Appeals, Terry's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
| Diana Terry | 67.06% | |
| Source: Colorado Secretary of State Official Certified Results | ||
2014
 | The staff at Judgepedia is currently working hard to develop our election pages and insure that we satisfy the needs of our interested readers. This page is still being developed and candidate lists are still being populated. If you would like to assist with elections, please contact: Matt Latourelle. |  |
- See also: Colorado judicial elections, 2012
2012
| Candidate | Incumbent | Retention vote: | Retention Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Taubman | |||
| James Casebolt | |||
| John Webb (Colorado) | |||
| Dennis Graham | |||
| Gale Miller | |||
| Laurie Booras |
- See also: Colorado judicial elections, 2012
Ethics
The Colorado Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Colorado. It consists of four overarching canons:
| “ |
|
” |
The full text of the Colorado Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.
Removal of judges
Judges in Colorado may be removed in one of three ways:
- By recommendation of the Colorado Commission on Judicial Discipline to the Colorado Supreme Court, which may then suspend, retire, censure, discipline or remove a judge
- By impeachment by a majority vote of the Colorado House of Representatives and a conviction by a two-thirds vote of the members of the Colorado State Senate
- By recall election[11]
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.[12]
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...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Colorado Court of Appeals. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Colorado Judicial Branch, "Court of Appeals"
- Colorado Judicial Branch, "Judges of the Court of Appeals"
- Rocky Mountain Appellate Blog
- Higher Courts blog
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Colorado Constitution, Article VI, Section 20," accessed May 8, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Court of Appeals Directory," January 24, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Appeals Blog, "Information about the Colorado appellate court," December 13, 2010
- ↑ The Colorado Court of Appeals was first established in 1891, but was abolished and re-established up to 1970, when it was established in its current form.
- ↑ The salary of the chief judge may be higher than an associate judge.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Colorado Judicial Branch, "Court of Appeals," accessed May 8, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Branch, "Future Case Announcements," accessed September 9, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Colorado," accessed September 9, 2015
- ↑ Colorado Judicial Branch, "Colorado Code of Judicial Conduct," amended July 1, 2010
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ National Center For State Courts, "Removal of Judges: Colorado," accessed May 9, 2015
- ↑ 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
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