Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Monica Márquez on Friday called on lawmakers to fund 29 new judgeships across the state over the next two years.
Márquez made the plea during the chief justice’s annual address to the Colorado legislature. She cited heavy workloads and burnout as the driving reasons for the new hires, and urged lawmakers to pass a newly proposed bill that would add more than two dozen judges to the state’s ranks by 2026.
“Too many judges are routinely working nights and weekends, unable to take time off to attend training, or to take care of sick family members, let alone tend to their own health,” she said. “For judges in the jurisdictions targeted in the bill, the current situation is simply unsustainable. We cannot ask our judges day in and day out to be making consequential decisions impacting people’s lives when they are running on empty tanks.”
The bill to fund the new positions, SB25-024, was introduced Wednesday by Democratic Sen. Dylan Roberts, of Frisco, and Republican Sen. Lisa Frizell, of Castle Rock. Márquez said Friday the new positions wouldn’t “fully staff” the state’s bench but would “provide some relief” in the most short-staffed judicial districts.
The chief justice painted a dire picture should the positions go unfunded — noting that some judges are choosing to quit because of unsustainable workloads and that fewer people are applying to open judgeships, even along the Front Range, where qualified applicants are more abundant than rural areas, where residents now struggle to find legal representation due to a shortage of attorneys.
“The current trends do not bode well for the future of our judiciary or our state,” Márquez said.
The proposed new positions would include 10 new district court judges across seven judicial districts — including in Arapahoe, Adams and Boulder counties — and eight new county court judges to be hired July 1, plus an additional six district court judges, a Denver probate court judge and three new judges for the Colorado Court of Appeals by July 2026.
The bill does not yet have a cost attached to the addition of 29 new judges. But the Colorado Judicial Branch is currently hiring a Denver District Court judge at an advertised salary of $198,798.
Márquez’s ‘State of the Judiciary’ address also touched on the department’s efforts to revamp its internal culture in the wake of a years-long blackmail scandal, concerns about harassment and sexual misconduct and criticism of the state’s system for disciplining judges.
“The past five years have been, frankly, a crucible,” she said. “But we have emerged stronger and better.”
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