The evaluation process
How Colorado judges are reviewed before appearing on your ballot.
Colorado law requires non-partisan commissions to review every judge standing for retention. Each commission studies the judge’s performance and publishes a recommendation before the election, so voters can decide from informed, independent analysis rather than campaign material.
There are two kinds of review. A retention evaluation happens in the year a judge’s term ends. An interim evaluation happens midway through a term and is for the judge’s own use — it doesn’t appear on the ballot but it does inform future retention reviews.
Reviews draw on surveys of attorneys and non-attorneys who have appeared in the judge’s courtroom, observations of live proceedings, and interviews with the judge. The commission publishes a written narrative, a recommendation (Meets Performance Standards or Does Not Meet Performance Standards), and a recorded vote tally.
Where this site fits
This is an independent, read-only archive of those published recommendations — every cycle from 1990 to the latest available. It’s not the official OJPE site and it doesn’t accept submissions. For the authoritative source, see the Colorado Office of Judicial Performance Evaluation.