CO · rules
C.R.J.D. 41
Proceedings Involving a Current or Former Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court
(a) In any proceeding in which any of the circumstances described in part (b) of this
rule are present, the entire Supreme Court shall recuse itself, and a special tribunal
composed of seven Colorado Court of Appeals judges shall replace the Supreme Court for
the limited purpose of exercising any authority conferred by law to the Supreme Court as
to the proceeding giving rise to recusal. The State Court Administrator, or the Administrator’s designee, shall randomly select members of the tribunal from among all active,
non-senior-status Court of Appeals judges who are not the subject of a current disciplinary
investigation or proceeding pending before the Commission; have not received a disciplinary sanction from the Commission or Supreme Court; and are not otherwise required by
law, court rule, or judicial canon to recuse themselves from the tribunal. The random
selection of tribunal members is a purely administrative function.
(b) The special tribunal shall replace the Supreme Court in the following circumstances:
(1) When the proceeding involves a complaint against a current or former Supreme
Court justice;
(2) When a current or former Supreme Court justice is a complainant or material
witness in the proceeding;
(3) When a staff member to a current Supreme Court justice is a complainant or
material witness in the proceeding;
(4) When a family member of a current Supreme Court justice is a complainant or
material witness in the proceeding;
(5) When any other circumstances exist due to which more than two Supreme Court
justices have recused themselves from the proceeding.
History
Source: Entire rule adopted and effective January 19, 2023 (Rule Change 2023(02)). COMMENT Article VI, section 23(3)(h) of the Colorado Constitution provides that a justice or judge who is a member of the Commission or Su- preme Court shall not participate in any pro- ceedings involving the member’s own removal or retirement. This, however, is not the exclu- sive basis on which judges and justices must recuse themselves, as the Colorado Code of Judicial Conduct provides more expansive guidelines for when a justice or judge should do so. See Colo. Code. Jud. Cond. 2.11. This rule is intended to accommodate such other circum- stances. Randomly substituting in judges from the Court of Appeals as contemplated by this rule is not an expansion of the Court of Appeals’ juris- diction. Any judicial officers randomly selected will not be acting in their capacities as Court of Appeals judges; rather, they will be temporarily stepping into the shoes of the Supreme Court justices. Cf. Colo. Const. art. VI, § 5(3); §§ 13-4-101, 13-4-104.5, C.R.S. (2022).
Provenance
- Source
- content.leg.colorado.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-15
- Edition
- 2026-09-15
- Content hash
bf6b273e71f7773418213ddc8fc71c59db69f9abe3d28c9541327f3be533d091
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