Colorado Supreme Court: The Final Three

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by: Colorado Pols

The top three candidates for the vacancy on the Colorado Supreme Court have been submitted to Gov. John Hickenlooper. From a press release out of the Governor’s office yesterday:

Gov. John Hickenlooper today received the names of three finalists to choose from to fill the vacancy on the Colorado Supreme Court. The Supreme Court Nominating Commission selected the candidates for a vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Alex J. Martinez.

The nominees are Brian D. Boatright of Arvada, Frederick T. Martinez of Castle Pines and Patrick T. O’Rourke of Highlands Ranch.

Under the Colorado Constitution, the governor now has 15 days (until Oct. 28) to appoint one of the nominees as a justice on the Colorado Supreme Court.

The full release is after the jump.

The nominees are Brian D. Boatright of Arvada, Frederick T. Martinez of Castle Pines and Patrick T. O’Rourke of Highlands Ranch.

Under the Colorado Constitution, the governor now has 15 days (until Oct. 28) to appoint one of the nominees as a justice on the Colorado Supreme Court. The governor will interview each candidate on Friday, Oct. 21, and Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia will interview each candidate on Monday, Oct. 24.

In the weeks leading up to receiving the nominees today, Hickenlooper has met with each sitting Supreme Court Justice to discuss qualifications to look for in a new justice. Hickenlooper also met with representatives from the following business groups: Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry; Colorado Civil Justice League; Colorado Concern; Colorado Medical Society; COPIC; Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce; and the National Federation of Independent Business.

Additionally, he met with representatives from the Colorado Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Bar Association; Colorado Sam Cary Bar Association; Colorado Indian Bar Association; Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Colorado; Colorado Women’s Bar Association; Colorado Hispanic Bar Association; and the Center for Legal Inclusiveness.

Comments, recommendations and referrals regarding any of the nominees are being accepted and may be sent via e-mail to the governor at judicial.appointments@state.co.us.

11 thoughts on “Colorado Supreme Court: The Final Three”

Libertad says:

October 14, 2011 at 8:30 pm

That just might help the discussion on this diary

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1. Craig says:
  
  October 14, 2011 at 10:09 pm
  
  I happen to know Boatright. He is a district court judge in Jeffco. Rated second best judge in the state last time he was evaluated. O’Rourke is in the legal counsel’s office for CU. His speciality appears to be Medical Malpractice and Civil Rights. Martinez practices with Hall & Evans downtown he’s listed as litigation, employment law and professional malpractice. Don’t know anything about any of them politically or whether any have connections with Hick. Boatright may have family connections, but he has been on the bench for 8 years, so probably no personal contact with Hick.
  
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  1. Republican 36 says:
    
    October 14, 2011 at 10:16 pm
    
    I think he is an excellent judge. I’ve tried cases before him and he was always prepared and well versed in the law and the facts. He is also even tempered and invariably respectful of litigants, attorneys, witnesses and jurors. He has a deep background in criminal law and juvenile matters too. Judge Boatright would make an excellent Colorado Supreme Court justice.
    
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  2. ArapaGOP says:
    
    October 15, 2011 at 2:42 am
    
    A community activist and an ambulance chaser. TABOR’s toast for sure!
    
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    1. spaceman65 says:
      
      October 15, 2011 at 5:38 pm
      
      It’s clear you have no clue what either O’Rourke or Martinez do in practice. Hall & Evans is an insurance defense firm primarily, handling malpractice and employment defense. Hardly “ambulance chasing.” And CU’s legal counsel is not exactly what I’d call a community activist position, what with representing CU against Ward Churchill, and the like. But you’re entitled to your snap judgments.
      
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    2. Gray in Mountains says:
      
      October 16, 2011 at 12:43 am
      
      I’m really going to hope you are right re TABOR. We’ll all be so much better off
      
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    3. Republican 36 says:
      
      October 16, 2011 at 8:11 am
      
      The TABOR lawsuit is in United States District Court. The only supreme court that will hear that case is the U.S. Supreme Court not the Colorado Supreme Court.
      
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2. Early Worm says:
  
  October 14, 2011 at 11:00 pm
  
  Here are links to their applications. All kinds of interesting stuff (Martinez has an Australian Shepard named Luna.).
  
  http://www.scribd.com/doc/6878…
  
  http://www.scribd.com/doc/6865…
  
  http://www.scribd.com/doc/6865…
  
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spaceman65 says:

October 14, 2011 at 11:58 pm

Not a single sitting court of appeals judge on the list, though several applied. O’Rourke is CU’s counsel in the Ward Churchill case, which, if O’Rourke were appointed, could set up that case being heard by only 6 justices and the possibility of a 3-3 split.

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irkedbyzealots says:

October 15, 2011 at 5:25 pm

really not much else to say in this post other than the fact that it’s beyond remarkable that there are no qualified women who made the shortlist of final nominees.

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morgancarroll says:

October 16, 2011 at 8:04 pm

I’m a little surprised that none of the 3 finalists were women either, given the number of qualified women attorneys in practice or already on the bench…

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