Colorado
Colorado’s highest court is the Colorado Supreme Court. The court has six associate justices and one chief justice, who is selected by majority vote of the supreme court justices. (Source: Colorado Supreme Court; Colorado Constitution)
Judicial Selection
The governor appoints Colorado Supreme Court justices from a list provided by a judicial nominating commission. After at least two years on the court, the justice stands in an unopposed yes/no retention vote in Colorado’s next general election. Justices serve 10-year terms and can stand for additional terms through retention elections. The governor fills interim vacancies from a list provided by the judicial nominating commission. The mandatory retirement age is 72.
State Constitution
Colorado’s first and only constitution was adopted in 1876. As of January 1, 2026, it had 174 amendments. (Data on file with John Dinan, Wake Forest University.)
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The Many Versions of State Constitutional Lockstepping
The practice of interpreting state constitutions identically to their federal counterpart is often criticized in blanket terms. But the ways state courts lockstep vary widely.
How State Courts Can Help Deflect the Supreme Court’s Latest Blow to Multiracial Democracy
State courts need not import a federal doctrine directing judges to avoid issuing rulings that could change election rules in the runup to an election.
Texas Parental Rights Amendment Threatens to Invalidate Child Abuse Laws
During oral arguments in a child abuse case, some Texas Supreme Court justices seemed open to the possibility that the amendment protected parental violence against children.
“State Capture” and the Role of State Courts
State constitutions offer powerful tools for combatting control of state and local institutions by private interests.
Habeas and Happy the Elephant
A Bronx Zoo elephant that died last week was made famous in litigation over whether habeas corpus can be used to challenge the confinement of nonhuman animals.
Perhaps Unexpectedly, State Constitutions Sometimes Offer Narrower Rights than the U.S. Constitution
The Ohio Supreme Court recently held that the state right to counsel is not as robust as its federal counterpart.
Fines, Fees, and Bail in State Courts
Recent state supreme court cases, including a major California ruling last week, address the burden of court-imposed financial obligations on criminal defendants.
State Courts Offer Protection Against Pregnancy Discrimination
Courts in almost two dozen states have rejected the U.S. Supreme Court’s reasoning that discrimination based on pregnancy is not sex discrimination.