Law and Government of Colorado - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Constitution of the State of Colorado
Constitution of the State of Colorado
The Constitution of the State of Colorado is the foundation of the laws and government of the U.S. state of Colorado. The current, and only, Colorado State Constitution was drafted 1876-03-14, approved by Colorado voters 1876-07-01, and took effect upon the statehood of Colorado on 1876-08-01...

provides for three branches of government: the legislative

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

, the executive

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

, and the judicial

Judiciary

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...

branches.

Sovereignty of the people

Article II of the Constitution of Colorado enacted August 1, 1876, the Bill of Rights

Bill of rights

A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights of the citizens of a country. The purpose of these bills is to protect those rights against infringement. The term "bill of rights" originates from England, where it referred to the Bill of Rights 1689. Bills of rights may be entrenched or...

, provides:

Section 1. Vestment of political power. All political power is vested in and derived from the people; all government, of right, originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.

Section 2. People may alter or abolish form of government − proviso. The people of this state have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves, as a free, sovereign and independent state; and to alter and abolish their constitution and form of government whenever they may deem it necessary to their safety and happiness, provided, such change be not repugnant to the constitution of the United States.

Initiative, referendum, and recall

In addition to providing for voting

Voting

Voting is a method for a group such as a meeting or an electorate to make a decision or express an opinion—often following discussions, debates, or election campaigns. It is often found in democracies and republics.- Reasons for voting :...

the people of Colorado have reserved initiative

Initiative

In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...

of laws and referendum

Referendum

A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...

of laws enacted by the legislature to themselves

...the people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws and amendments to the constitution and to enact or reject the same at the polls independent of the general assembly and also reserve power at their own option to approve or reject at the polls any act or item, section, or part of any act of the general assembly.

and provided for recall

Recall election

A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before his or her term has ended...

of office holders.

Legislature

The legislative body is the Colorado General Assembly

Colorado General Assembly

The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado.-Constitutional definition:The Colorado Constitution establishes a system of government based on the separation of powers doctrine with power divided among three "departments": executive, legislative and judicial...

made up of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members of the House are elected for two year terms from single member, equal population districts. Approximately half of the members of the state senate are elected each two years to four year terms from single member, equal population districts. The House of Representatives has 65 members and the Senate has 35.

Currently, Democrats

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

are in control of both chambers of the General Assembly. The 64th Colorado General Assembly

Colorado General Assembly

is the first to be controlled by the Democrats in forty years. The current Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives

Speaker (politics)

The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...

is Terrance Carroll

Terrance Carroll

Terrance Carroll is an American lawyer, minister, former Colorado legislator and former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, the first African American ever to hold that office in Colorado...

(D-Denver), and the current President of the Colorado Senate is Peter Groff

Peter Groff

Peter C. Groff is a member of the Obama administration and a former Colorado legislator and President of the Colorado Senate. An attorney, public servant, and political veteran, Groff was elected as a Democrat to the Colorado House of Representatives in 2000, then re-elected in 2002...

(D-Denver).

Executive

The Governor of Colorado heads the state's executive branch. The current governor is John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Wright Hickenlooper is an American politician and current Governor of Colorado. A Democrat, he was previously the Mayor of Denver, Colorado from 2003 to 2011.-Early life, education and career:...

(D). Colorado's other statewide elected executive officers are the Lieutenant Governor of Colorado

Lieutenant Governor of Colorado

The lieutenant governor of Colorado is the second-highest-ranking member of the executive department of the Colorado state government, below only the Governor of Colorado. The lieutenant governor, who acts as governor in his absence and succeeds to the governorship in case of vacancy, is elected on...

(elected on a ticket

Ticket (election)

A ticket refers to a single election choice which fills more than one political office or seat. For example, in the U.S., the candidates for President and Vice President run on the same "ticket", because they are elected together on a single ballot question rather than separately.A ticket can also...

with the Governor), Secretary of State of Colorado

Secretary of State of Colorado

The Secretary of State of Colorado is the secretary of state of the state of Colorado in the United States. The office is one of five elected constitutional offices in the state...

, Colorado State Treasurer

Colorado State Treasurer

The Treasurer of the State of Colorado is one of the five elected officials of the U.S. state of Colorado. The State Treasurer is responsible for managing the Colorado State Treasury and the Colorado Department of the Treasury...

, and Attorney General of Colorado, all of whom serve four-year terms.

There are also elected members of the Colorado State Board of Education

Colorado State Board of Education

The Colorado State Board of Education is a government body in the U.S. state of Colorado tasked with "general supervision of public schools." It is composed of members elected from districts corresponding to Colorado's congressional districts – following the 2000 census, there are seven districts...

and the Regents of the University of Colorado

Regents of the University of Colorado

Regents of the University of Colorado are the regent directors of the University of Colorado system responsible for the overall university system. It is an elected position with a term of 6 years...

are elected from districts coterminous with Colorado's congressional districts

Colorado's congressional districts

The State of Colorado currently has seven congressional districts from which U.S. Representatives are elected to the United States House of Representatives. In the 112th Congress, the Colorado delegation is composed of three Democratic and four Republican U.S...

or at large

At large

The phrase at large may refer to:* "At Large", a 1959 album by The Kingston Trio* At Large, a classification for a fugitive on the run who is within a very large radius; opposite of "At Small" or "At Close"...

. As a result, the Governor does not have direct management authority over either the Department of Education or any of the state's institutions of higher education.

Most crimes in Colorado are prosecuted by a district attorney

District attorney

In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...

. One district attorney is elected for each of the state's 22 judicial districts in a partisan election. The state attorney general

State Attorney General

The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states and territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney general serves as the head of a state department of justice, with responsibilities similar to those...

also has power to prosecute certain crimes, and in rare circumstances a special prosecutor

Special prosecutor

A special prosecutor generally is a lawyer from outside the government appointed by an attorney general or, in the United States, by Congress to investigate a government official for misconduct while in office. A reasoning for such an appointment is that the governmental branch or agency may have...

may be appointed to prosecute a crime on a case by case basis. Municipal ordinance violations are prosecuted by city attorney

City attorney

A city attorney can be an elected or appointed position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the city or municipality....

s.

The executive branch of Colorado state government comprises 19 departments:

Colorado Department of Agriculture
Colorado Department of Agriculture
The Colorado Department of Agriculture manages agriculture in the U.S. State of Colorado. Former U.S. Congressman John Salazar was appointed as Commissioner of the Department in 2011.-Mission:According to their mission statement,...

(CDA) website
Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) website
Colorado Department of Education
Colorado Department of Education
The Colorado Department of Education is the state education agency of Colorado. It is headquartered in Denver....

(CDE) website
Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (CDHCPF) website
Colorado Department of Higher Education
Colorado Department of Higher Education
The Colorado Department of Higher Education is a department of the government of Colorado responsible for higher education.The departments coordinating policy for the state's 28 public colleges and universities as well as many more private schools...

(CDHE) website
Colorado Department of Human Services
Colorado Department of Human Services
The Colorado Department of Human Services is a state agency of Colorado. It has its headquarters in Denver. The department operates the state's social services.-External links:*...

(CDHS) website
Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) website
Colorado Department of Law and the Office of the Attorney General (CDOL) website
Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) website
Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) website
Colorado Department of Natural Resources
Colorado Department of Natural Resources
The Colorado Department of Natural Resources is the department of the government of the U.S. State of Colorado that is responsible for the development, protection, and enhancement Colorado natural resources for the use and enjoyment of the state's present and future residents, as well as for...

(CDNR) website
Colorado Department of Personnel and Administration (DPA) website
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) website
Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS) website
Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) website
Colorado Department of Revenue (DOR) website
Colorado Department of State (DOS) website
Colorado Department of Transportation
Colorado Department of Transportation
The Colorado Department of Transportation is the agency of state government responsible for transportation in the State of Colorado of the United States. CDOT is responsible for maintaining 9,144 mile highway system, including 3,429 bridges with over 28 billion vehicle miles of travel per year...

(CDOT) website
Colorado Department of the Treasury (CDT) website

Colorado Supreme Court

The judicial branch is headed by the Colorado Supreme Court

Colorado Supreme Court

The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices.-Appellate jurisdiction:...

, the state supreme court

State supreme court

In the United States, the state supreme court is the highest state court in the state court system ....

. In addition to its role as the state's highest appellate court

Appellate court

An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...

, the Colorado Supreme Court supervises the state court system and the state's lawyers. The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice

Chief Justice

The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...

(currently Mary Mullarkey) and six associate justice

Associate Justice

Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...

Colorado Court of Appeals

The Colorado Court of Appeals

Colorado Court of Appeals

The Colorado Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court for the state of Colorado. It was established by statute by the Colorado General Assembly under Article VI, Section 1 of the Constitution of Colorado.-Jurisdiction:...

is the state intermediate appellate court.

Colorado District Courts, Denver Probate Court, and Denver Juvenile Court

The Colorado District Courts

Colorado District Courts

Colorado District Courts are the state trial courts of general jurisdiction in the U.S. state of Colorado.They have original jurisdiction in civil cases with any amount in controversy; felony criminal cases, domestic relations, family law, and cases involving minors cases , probate, and mental health...

are the state trial court

Trial court

A trial court or court of first instance is a court in which trials take place. Such courts are said to have original jurisdiction.- In the United States :...

s of general jurisdiction

General jurisdiction

A court of general jurisdiction is one that has the authority to hear cases of all kinds - criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth.-Courts of general jurisdiction in the United States:All federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Many U.S...

. There are 22 judicial districts in the state, which include one or more of Colorado's 64 counties. They have original jurisdiction

Original jurisdiction

The original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a court has the power to review a lower court's decision.-France:...

in civil cases with any amount in controversy

Amount in controversy

Amount in controversy is a term used in United States civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular court must be suing for a certain minimum amount before that court may hear the...

; felony

Felony

A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...

criminal cases

Criminal law

Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...

, domestic relations

Domestic relations

In the common law tradition, the law of domestic relations is a broad category that encompasses:* divorce;* property settlements;* alimony, spousal support, or other maintenance;* the establishment of paternity;...

, family law

Family law

Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...

, and cases involving minors

Minor (law)

In law, a minor is a person under a certain age — the age of majority — which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood; the age depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is typically 18...

cases (including adoption

Adoption

Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...

, dependency

Dependant

This article is related to law. For the personality trait, see Dependent Personality DisorderA dependant or dependent is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income...

, juvenile delinquency

Juvenile delinquency

Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...

, and paternity

Paternity (law)

In law, paternity is the legal acknowledgment of the parental relationship between a man and a child usually based on several factors.At common law, a child born to the wife during a marriage is the husband's child under the "presumption of legitimacy", and the husband is assigned complete rights,...

actions), probate

Probate

Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...

, and mental health

Mental health

Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...

cases. Court filings in District Court generally indicate the county within the district in which the action is filed and the District Court generally conducts proceedings in that action in that county.

Uniquely, within the City and County of Denver, a consolidated city–county, the Denver Probate Court and the Denver Juvenile Court have jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...

over probate and juvenile matters respectively. Outside Denver, these matters are within the jurisdiction of the District Courts.

Colorado Water Courts

The state's seven Colorado Water Courts

Colorado Water Courts

The Colorado Water Courts are specialized state courts of the U.S. state of Colorado. There are seven Water Courts in each of Colorado's seven major river basins: South Platte, Arkansas, Rio Grande, Gunnison, Colorado, White, and San Juan. The Water Courts are divisions of the District Courts in...

have exclusive

Exclusive jurisdiction

In civil procedure, exclusive jurisdiction exists where one court has the power to adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts. It is the opposite situation from concurrent jurisdiction, in which more than one court may take jurisdiction over the case.Exclusive jurisdiction is typically...

subject-matter jurisdiction

Subject-matter jurisdiction

Subject-matter jurisdiction is the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular type or cases relating to a specific subject matter. For instance, bankruptcy court only has the authority to hear bankruptcy cases....

over adjudications of water right

Water right

Water right in water law refers to the right of a user to use water from a water source, e.g., a river, stream, pond or source of groundwater. In areas with plentiful water and few users, such systems are generally not complicated or contentious...

s. Established in 1969, there are seven Water Courts in each of Colorado's seven major river basins

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...

: South Platte

South Platte River

The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West, located in the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska...

, Arkansas

Arkansas River

The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...

, Rio Grande

Rio Grande

The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...

, Gunnison

Gunnison River

The Gunnison River is a tributary of the Colorado River, long, in the Southwest state of Colorado. It is the fifth largest tributary of the Colorado River, with a mean flow of 4320 ft³/s .-Description:...

, Colorado

Colorado River

The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...

, White

White River (Utah)

The White River is a tributary of the Green River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Colorado and Utah. Flows vary from 450 ft³/s late summers in dry years to well over 12,000 ft³/s in spring....

, and San Juan. The Water Courts are divisions of the District Courts

Colorado District Courts

in that basin and use the District Court's accessories, and water judges are District Court judges appointed by the Colorado Supreme Court

Colorado Supreme Court

The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices.-Appellate jurisdiction:...

Colorado County Courts

Colorado County Courts are state trial courts of limited jurisdiction in the U.S. state of Colorado.There is one County Court in each of Colorado's 64 counties...

are courts of limited jurisdiction

Limited jurisdiction

Limited jurisdiction, or special jurisdiction, is the courts' jurisdiction only on certain types of cases such as bankruptcy, family matters, etc....

. There is one County Court in each of the 64 counties, including the consolidated city-counties of Denver and Broomfield

Broomfield, Colorado

The City and County of Broomfield is a prominent suburb and tier of the Denver metropolitan area in the State of Colorado of the United States. Broomfield has a consolidated city and county government which operates under Article XX, Sections 10-13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. The...

. They hear misdemeanor

Misdemeanor

A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...

cases, preliminary hearing

Preliminary hearing

Within some criminal justice systems, a preliminary hearing is a proceeding, after a criminal complaint has been filed by the prosecutor, to determine whether there is enough evidence to require a trial...

s in felony

Felony

cases, eviction

Eviction

How you doing???? Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, eviction may also be known as unlawful detainer, summary possession, summary dispossess, forcible detainer, ejectment, and repossession, among other terms...

s, civil cases not involving ownership of real property with an amount in controversy up to $15,000, and several other narrowly defined types of cases such as name change

Name change

Name change generally refers to a legal act allowing a person to adopt a name different than their name at birth, marriage, or adoption. The procedures and ease of a name change depend on the jurisdiction. In general, common law jurisdictions have loose limitations on name changes while civil law...

s and temporary restraining orders. There is one county court in each of Colorado's counties.

Municipal courts

In some municipalities of Colorado there are municipal courts, which are not part of the state court system. These courts may hear only cases of local ordinance

Local ordinance

A local ordinance is a law usually found in a municipal code.-United States:In the United States, these laws are enforced locally in addition to state law and federal law.-Japan:...

violations with punishments no more severe than misdemeanor offenses. In Denver, county courts and municipal courts are integrated and are not part of the state court system for administrative purposes. Some municipal courts are courts of record

Court of record

In common law jurisdictions, a court of record is a judicial tribunal having attributes and exercising functions independently of the person of the magistrate designated generally to hold it, and proceeding according to the course of common law, its acts and proceedings being enrolled for a...

which can impose greater sanctions for ordinance violations and are subject to appellate review in a manner similar to state courts. Other municipal courts are courts not of record, which can impose only less severe sanctions for ordinance violations, whose decisions are appealed through trials de novo

Trial de novo

In law, the expression trial de novo means a "new trial" by a different tribunal...

in the appellate court. A small number of municipal courts in Colorado have been granted civil jurisdiction in certain ordinance cases, such as cases involving land use

Land use

Land use is the human use of land. Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment or wilderness into built environment such as fields, pastures, and settlements. It has also been defined as "the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake in a certain land cover...

, under municipal home rule

Municipal home rule

Municipal home rule originated in the United States during the Progressive Era of the early twentieth century. It enables voters to adopt a home rule charter that acts as the city's basic governing document over local issues; however, state law continues to prevail over statewide concerns...

powers, in addition to quasi-criminal jurisdiction.

Appellate procedure courts

With certain exceptions, appeals of right from Districts Courts, the Denver Probate Court and the Denver Juvenile Court are to the Colorado Court of Appeals

Colorado Court of Appeals

. There are certain exceptions, in which an appeal of right lies directly to the Colorado Supreme Court

Colorado Supreme Court

The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the Court consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices.-Appellate jurisdiction:...

. The include capital punishment

Capital punishment in Colorado

Capital punishment is legal in the U.S. state of Colorado.Colorado was the last state to perform an execution in pre-Furman period , but since 1977 executed only one prisoner.-Current development:...

cases, cases where a law is found to be unconstitutional

Constitutionality

Constitutionality is the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution. Acts that are not in accordance with the rules laid down in the constitution are deemed to be ultra vires.-See also:*ultra vires*Company law*Constitutional law...

by a District Court, Water Court cases and discretionary review

Discretionary review

Discretionary review is the authority of appellate courts to decide which appeals they will consider from among the cases submitted to them. This offers the judiciary a filter on what types of cases are appealed, because judges have to consider in advance which cases will be accepted...

following county or municipal court appeals of right. The Colorado Court of Appeals also has jurisdiction over appeals directly from certain state administrative bodies.

Most appeals from County Courts, municipal courts and quasi-judicial local decision making bodies are made to a District Court. All appeals other than appeals of right, including most appeals prior to a final judgment in civil cases, are to the Colorado Supreme Court.

Supervision of convicted criminals on probation

Probation

Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...

is a responsibility of the judicial branch. Jails for individuals awaiting convention or sentencing, convicted of misdemeanor

Misdemeanor

s, petty offenses or ordinance violations, and for convicted felons awaiting transfers to state prison, are operated by county sheriffs

Sheriffs in the United States

In the United States, a sheriff is a county official and is typically the top law enforcement officer of a county. Historically, the sheriff was also commander of the militia in that county. Distinctive to law enforcement in the United States, sheriffs are usually elected. The political election of...

. Prisons for adults and supervision of individuals on parole is the responsibility of the state government through the state department of corrections. Incarceration of juvenile and certain mentally ill offenders are also the responsibility of the state government.

Judicial selection and retention

When vacancies occurs on the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, District Court, or County Court, a judicial nominating commission

Judicial nominating commission

A judicial nominating commission in the United States, is a body used by some U.S. states to recommend or select potential justices and judges for appointments by state governments....

recommends to the governor three (for appellate courts) and two or three (for trial courts) qualified candidates to fill the vacancy. The governor appoint a judge from the commission's list. The supreme court nominating commission recommends candidates to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals and is composed of 15 members: The chief justice (as non-voting chair), one lawyer from each of the state's seven congressional districts, and one non-lawyer from each congressional district.

For the District Courts and County Courts, judicial district nominating commission in each of the 22 judicial districts recommend candidates. For each one, a supreme court justice serves as a non-voting chair and the remainder of the committee includes seven residents of the judicial district. In districts with populations greater than 35,000, there are three lawyer and four non-lawyer members. In districts with populations less than 35,000, at least four members are non-lawyers, and it is determined by majority vote of the governor, attorney general, and chief justice how many members will be lawyers.

Commission members serve six-year terms. The non-lawyers on each commission, are appointed by the governor. while the lawyer members are appointed by joint action of the governor, attorney general, and chief justice.

Denver County Court judges are appointed by the mayor from choices presented by a blue ribbon merit selection committee, and subject to retention elections in the same manner as state court system county court judges.

After two years in office, and then after the expiration of each full term in office, judges are subject to retention election

Retention election

A judicial retention election is a periodic process whereby a judge is subject to a referendum held at the same time as a general election...

s in which voters can choose to retain or not retain a judge. The vast majority (about 99 percent) of judges are retained by voters. State committees make recommendations to voters on the retention of judges distributed in booklet form with partial justifications prior to each judicial retention election. Voters have never voted not to retain an appellate judge in the forty years that the system has been in place. Voters tend to not retain judges only when there is a well-publicized scandal and usually also a recommendation from a state committee that a judge not be retained. Judges may also be impeached by the legislature (a very rare occurrence) and are monitored by a judicial discipline commission. Many complaints about judges found by the judicial discipline commission to warrant further investigation are resolved when the judge involved retires, rendering the investigation moot. Colorado judges are not subject to recall election

Recall election

A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before his or her term has ended...

s.

The appointment and retention of municipal court judges is governed by municipal ordinance. All or almost all municipal judges are appointed.

Judicial qualifications

Appellate judges, District Court judges, Denver Probate Court judges, Juvenile Court judges and County Court judges in larger counties are required to be lawyers. Trial courts also often have magistrates with many judicial powers appointed by the court who must also be lawyers.

County Court judges in smaller counties are not required to be lawyers, but currently there are no more than four non-lawyer state judges in Colorado, all of whom are part-time, and at least three of whom are college educated.

Preference in hiring municipal judges must be given to lawyers. Municipal judges in courts of record must be lawyers, while municipal judges in courts not of record need not be lawyers. In practice, all of the larger municipalities in Colorado have municipal courts of record with judges who are lawyers. Many municipal judges who are lawyers serve on multiple municipal courts and/or are part-time county court judges.

U.S. Congress

The people of the state of Colorado are additionally represented in the federal government of the United States

Federal government of the United States

The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...

by two United States Senators and seven Congressional Representatives:

United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
United States Senate Class 2
Classes of United States Senators
The three classes of United States Senators are currently made up of 33 or 34 Senate seats. The purpose of the classes is to determine which Senate seats will be up for election in a given year. The three groups are staggered so that one of them is up for election every two years.A senator's...

- Mark Emery Udall (Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

) 2009-
United States Senate Class 3
Classes of United States Senators
The three classes of United States Senators are currently made up of 33 or 34 Senate seats. The purpose of the classes is to determine which Senate seats will be up for election in a given year. The three groups are staggered so that one of them is up for election every two years.A senator's...

- Michael Farrand Bennet (Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

) 2009-
United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

:
Colorado's 1st congressional district
Colorado's 1st congressional district
Colorado's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado based primarily in the City and County of Denver in the central part of the state...

- Diana Louise DeGette (Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

) 1997-
Colorado's 2nd congressional district
Colorado's 2nd congressional district
Colorado's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. The district is located in the north-central part of the state and encompasses the northwestern suburbs of Denver including Boulder, Northglenn, Thornton, and Westminster...

- Jared Schutz Polis (Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

) 2009-
Colorado's 3rd congressional district
Colorado's 3rd congressional district
Colorado's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. The district is located in western and south central Colorado, encompassing most of the rural Western Slope...

- Scott Tipton
Scott Tipton
Scott R. Tipton is the U.S. Representative for . In November 2010, he defeated three-term incumbent Democrat John Salazar, whom he lost to in 2006 by a wide margin. He was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives and a co-owner of a pottery company in Cortez, Colorado...

(Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

) (2011–
Colorado's 4th congressional district
Colorado's 4th congressional district
Colorado's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in the eastern part of the state, the district encompasses most of the rural Eastern Plains as well as the larger cities of Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland and Longmont along Colorado's Front...

- Cory Gardner
Cory Gardner
Cory Scott Gardner is the Republican U.S. Representative for Colorado's 4th congressional district. In 2010, he defeated incumbent Democrat Betsy Markey. He was formerly a member of the Colorado House of Representatives....

(Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

) (2011–
Colorado's 5th congressional district
Colorado's 5th congressional district
Colorado's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. The district lies in the center of the state and mostly comprises Colorado Springs and its suburbs including Cimarron Hills and Fort Carson....

- Douglas L. "Doug" Lamborn (Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

) 2007-
Colorado's 6th congressional district
Colorado's 6th congressional district
Colorado's 6th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in central Colorado, the district encompasses much of the southern part of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area, including the suburbs of Littleton, Centennial and portions of Aurora.The district...

- Michael "Mike" Coffman (Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

) 2009-
Colorado's 7th congressional district
Colorado's 7th congressional district
Colorado's 7th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in the central part of the state, the district encompasses much of the northern parts of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area, including the suburbs of Lakewood, Arvada, and Aurora as well as the...

- Edwin George "Ed" Perlmutter (Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

) 2007-

Politics

Colorado has elected 17 Democrats

Democratic Party (United States)

and 12 Republicans

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

to the governorship in the last 100 years. Incumbent Governor John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

, who was elected in 2010, is a Democrat, and his predecessor, Governor Bill Ritter, who won election in 2006 is also a Democrat, though his predecessor Bill Owens is a Republican.

The state's electoral votes went to Democrat Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

in 1992

United States presidential election, 1992

The United States presidential election of 1992 had three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George Bush; Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot....

, Republican Bob Dole

Bob Dole

Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...

in 1996

United States presidential election, 1996

The United States presidential election of 1996 was a contest between the Democratic national ticket of President Bill Clinton of Arkansas and Vice President Al Gore of Tennessee and the Republican national ticket of former Senator Bob Dole of Kansas for President and former Housing Secretary Jack...

, Republican George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

in 2000

United States presidential election, 2000

The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....

and 2004

United States presidential election, 2004

The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...

, and Democrat Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

in 2008

United States presidential election, 2008

The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...

.

Of Colorado's seven members of the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

, four are Republicans and three are Democrats following the 2010 election.

External links

State of Colorado government website
- Colorado Constitution and statutes

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