I told you yesterday about Colorado’s crowded ballot, with the most issues presented since 1912. But you’ll vote on retaining judges, too.
More on that in a moment on the Face The State Radio Minute.
A panel evaluating the performance of Jefferson County judges has recommended voters vote not to retain the Hon. Judy Archuleta, saying she damages the public’s trust in the judicial system. She’s the only lawyer in a black robe to receive a negative review in the whole state.
Political junkies are hard-pressed to cite examples of judges losing a retention vote for anything other than moral turpitude. That’s because it’s never happened.
The judicial performance commission says that while Archuleta may be well-versed in the law, she’s not qualified to serve as a judge. Surveys of lawyers and litigants who have appeared before her agree: Only 44% of lawyers surveyed say she should remain on the bench. That’s 40% below the state average.
Not everyone is going to be happy with the judicial system. But when lawyers and non-attorneys alike are that tough on a sitting judge, voters should take note.
For FaceTheState.com, I’m Brad Jones.
Hufnagle, too
On August 15th, 2008 Jane says:
Lynn Hufnagle was forced off the Denver District Bench some years ago, same kind of thing. I can't remember if she declined to run for retention or if she lost the vote.
Jane
Jane is right
On August 15th, 2008 bradj says:
The Second Judicial District's Commission on Judicial Performance did recommend in 1996 voters not retain Judge Lynne Hufnagel. She lost the retention election by a vote of 57,756-61,310. The Westword has a very good write-up of the campaign to oust her from the bench.
There's not a lot of good information available about the history and relative merits of Colorado's merit selection system on the Internet or offline. Hopefully this year's rare "do not retain" recommendation in Jefferson County will help to bring attention to these often overlooked ballot questions.
We regret the omission of this bit of history in today's Radio Minute. It just goes to show, don't trust everything lawyers tell you about their own profession!
Brad Jones
Managing Editor