The American Judges Association on Thursday announced its opposition to Amendment 40, the proposal that would term-limit justices of the Colorado Supreme Court and judges of the Colorado Court of Appeals.
The association is the largest independent group of trial and appellate judges in the United States, with about 2,000 members, including 20 in Colorado.
“Under our system of government, the executive and legislative branches are political. If the third branch – the judiciary – is not kept out of the political fray, it cannot do its job of providing a check and balance on the other branches,” said Steve Leben, association president and a trial judge in Kansas.
Leben said the judiciary relies on the wisdom and maturity of judges as the source of its strength in defending constitutional rights.
Andrew Armatas, a member of the association and the presiding judge of the Denver County Court, said Colorado’s existing system for choosing and evaluating judges has been carefully designed to keep politics out of the process.
