Colorado Chief Justice Monica Márquez began her first State of the Judiciary address by telling the General Assembly about her family history in Colorado, and how honored she was to stand in front of the General Assembly to give the address.
“Speaking as a kid who grew up in Grand Junction and who never in a million years would have dreamed it as possible, it is an honor to stand before you today as Colorado’s newest chief justice,” Márquez said.
Márquez told the members of the Colorado legislature that the judiciary employs around 4,000 people, with around 400 judges and magistrates. She noted the branch’s caseload, which sits at over half a million cases a year, and the 65,000 individuals on probation that are supervised by the branch. She also emphasized the work the courts do in civil cases, and the thousands of decisions the state’s judges and magistrates make daily that impact families, children, businesses, local communities, water and the environment.
She told the state’s legislators that the most important resource for the state’s judges is their time.
“The work we do is difficult and it takes a toll. Every day, our judges, our court staff and probation officers encounter people from all walks of life who are navigating some of the worst experience of their lives, whether it involves addiction, a mental health crisis, a divorce, a bitter custody dispute, an eviction, life-altering injuries from an auto accident or the trauma of a violent crime,” Márquez said.
“Our employees are compassionate and mission-driven. It’s an honor to serve with them, but right now we need some relief,” Márquez added.
Challenges Facing the Court
According to Márquez, there are several challenges the state’s judiciary system is currently facing. The need for additional officers is one, but she noted that the pivot to virtual proceedings, budget cuts and increased public scrutiny have also made the work of the state’s judicial branch more challenging.
Complicating matters further are the challenges individual judges are facing. Márquez said that judges are seeing declining courtroom civility, virtual courtroom disruptors, polarizing rhetoric and threats to security.
In just over a year, the state has seen a fatal shooting outside a courthouse, a suicide outside of a courthouse, a bomb threat, death threats toward judges and a gunman who shot his way into the Ralph Carr Judicial Center, which houses the state’s Supreme Court and appeals court.
On the digital side, Márquez said the court needed a purpose-designed digital courtroom, and she thanked the state’s Joint Budget Committee for authorizing emergency funding for a request for proposal to do so.
In addition to asking for funding for more judicial officers and a digital courtroom, Márquez said that the state’s judicial branch was asking for assistance from the legislature to improve physical security for judges and staff.
Overall, Márquez told the legislature that the current situation judges face in the state is 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,” Márquez said.
She noted that the budget request submitted to the legislature this year only asks for additional judges in the districts facing the great need, rather than a full staffing of the courts. She also told the legislature that judges were leaving the bench due to the unsustainable workload, and that applications for judicial vacancies are declining.
“The current trends do not bode well for the future of our judiciary or our state,” Márquez said. “What our judges need is hope, hope that relief is on the way. And I ask for your support in providing that relief.”
What’s New
Márquez noted that there have been some changes in the judicial branch recently, including to the personnel of the branch.
“The last five years have also brought an influx of new people and new leaders throughout the branch,” Márquez said. She noted that much of the core workforce, judicial clerks and probation officers had joined the judicial branch in the past five years. The numbers were similar to judges, with more than half appointed since 2020 and roughly 80% of the state’s chief judges only a few years into their leadership roles.
But the transformed department has a positive aspect, according to Márquez. “This true transformation of the department has presented a fertile environment for the seeds of our workplace culture initiative to take root,” Marquez said.
According to the judicial branch’s website on the topic, the department’s workplace culture initiative aims to provide equal access to justice, contribute to public safety and strengthen the rule of law. It also commits the state’s courts and probation departments to impartial and timely dispute resolution, client rehabilitation, community engagement and support for families, litigants and victims.
Márquez pointed to the new licensed paraprofessional program, problem-solving courts and the branch’s internship pipeline as successful examples of the initiative.
Looking forward, Márquez said that the branch was working on evaluation processes for the state’s chief judges to give employees a way to provide meaningful feedback to the leaders in the district. She hopes that will include her position as the chief justice as well.