A proposed initiative to term limit Colorado judges hit a wall today when proponents were unable to gather enough petition signatures to put the measure on the ballot.
Former state Senate President John Andrews said his committee, Limit the Power, lacked enough money to pay signature-gathers, making it impossible for the group to meet a May 14 deadline.
“Court reform will have to wait another year,” Andrews said.
The initiative proposed doing something no other state has done — limit state judges to three four-year terms.
A similar ballot issue sponsored by Andrews in 2006 was shot down by voters.
Former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Kourlis, who is now executive director of the Denver-based Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, has been a vocal opponent of term limits. She said there are better ways to make judges accountable, such as through performance evaluations and other measures.
“Most Coloradans view term limits as not having anything to do with solving problems in the court,” she said. “The decision not to proceed with this is really, in my opinion, a tacit acknowledgment that the people of Colorado believe the judicial system is fundamentally sound.”
In a statement, David Lytle, president of the Colorado Bar Association, said: “We were gratified to hear that the proponent of the ballot initiative that would have harmed Colorado’s judiciary has acknowledged he will not be going forward because of a lack of support.”
