Two Republican lawmakers want voters to decide whether Coloradans should be able to recall judges.
Sen. Doug Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, said no particular case or judge - or even the current national debate about judicial activism - inspired his proposed constitutional amendment.
Lamborn said he believes the judiciary should be treated the same as other branches of government.
"It's not fair that we're subject to recall, and judges are not," he said.
Sen. Jennifer Veiga, D-Denver, said she can't support the proposal.
"I think politicizing the judiciary is the exact opposite way we want to go," she said. "Protecting the independence of the judiciary is key."
The measure, which was introduced Friday, is co-sponsored by Rep. Ted Harvey, R-Highlands Ranch.
Under the proposal, judges from the county court level all the way to the state Supreme Court would be subject to a recall if the measure passes the Democratic-controlled legislature and then is approved by voters.
Lamborn said voters wouldn't be able to recall judges on a whim because of a stiff signature requirement.
Petition gatherers would need valid signatures equal to 25 percent of the entire vote cast in the last election.
Coloradans don't elect their judges. The governor appoints them, choosing from two or three candidates selected by judicial nominating commissions.
After a new judge has begun serving, voters then must decide whether to retain him or her at the end of each term.
The judges are evaluated in a nonpartisan process by the attorneys who appear before them. The evaluators can recommend that voters throw a judge off the bench or keep a judge there, or they can take no position.
Lamborn said rarely do judges get bad evaluations, and when they do voters often decide to keep them.
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