Current Commissioner Opportunities

*All Appointing Authorities in parenthesis above were the original appointing authorities, but failed to timely appoint. Pursuant to statute, the State Commission is charged with filling these appointments. Once the newly appointed Commissioner's term ends, the appointment will go back to the original appointing authority.

Description of Commissioner Duties

Commissions on judicial performance provide voters with fair, responsible, and constructive evaluations of Colorado state court judges and justices seeking retention in general elections.  Commissions also provide "interim evaluations" of judges in off years. Commissions do not make recommendations during the interim cycle but can identify areas of performance concerns and provide feedback to the judge/justice.  Evaluation results, whether during the retention cycle or interim cycle, provide judges with performance feedback they can use to improve their judicial skills and abilities.

The State Commission evaluates appellate court judges from the Colorado Supreme Court and Colorado Court of Appeals, while district commissions evaluate district court and county court judges from their district.

To evaluate the overall performance of a judge, commissioners review information from the following sources:

• Survey report results compiled from attorneys (including prosecutors, public defenders, and private attorneys), non-attorneys (including jurors, litigants, law enforcement personnel, court employees, court interpreters, probation office employees, social service department employees, and crime victims), and other judges.
• Courtroom observations.
• Self-evaluations written by the judges.
• Decisions/opinions.
• Case processing statistics for the judges.
• Interviews with the judges.
• In addition, commissions may use the following information:
  • Information and documentation from interested persons.
  • Information from interviews with justices and judges and other persons.
  • Information from public hearings.

In election years, commissioners prepare narratives summarizing their performance review of the judges, which also includes a retention recommendation.  These narratives appear in the State Ballot Information Booklet (also known as the Blue Book) and on the Office of Judicial Performance website.

If you're interested in learning more about the duties of a commissioner, please contact Kent Wagner (kent.wagner@judicial.state.co.us) at 303-928-7777.

How to Apply

Download the Commissioner Application (PDF)

Please submit your completed application and resume to:

Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation
Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center
1300 Broadway, Suite 220
Denver, CO 80203

Applications are accepted on a continuing basis and may be submitted to the appointing authorities as vacancies occur.