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Term-limit proposal for judges decried

Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News

Published October 16, 2006 at midnight

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• Ballot measure: Amendment 40

• What it would do: Amends the state Constitution to limit state Supreme Court justices and appellate court judges to 10 years on the bench.

• Media: TV, radio

• Cost: $900,000

• Sponsor: Vote No 40, the group opposing Amendment 40

• Summary: The TV ad opens with a shot of two empty chairs. As the narrator states, "Amendment 40 shuts the door on swift justice for Coloradans," there is the sound of a door slamming shut.

The narrator then says limiting judicial terms would create backlogs, delaying criminal cases, child protection matters and domestic disputes.

The measure also "opens the door to partisan politics" by giving future governors the power to appoint five of the seven Supreme Court justices at the same time, "stacking the deck with partisan judges, liberal or conservative."

It ends with Vote No 40's tagline, "Bad idea. Serious consequences."

• What's true: Amendment 40 would remove five of the seven existing Supreme Court justices in 2009. Assuming all justices are retained for a full 10 years, it would give the governor the power to appoint five of the seven each decade. What's false: There's no guaranteeing the newly appointed judges would be partisan or that delays would occur.

• What's squishy: Supporters of the measure say a process could be created to phase in new justices so there would be no backlog. But opponents say the amendment includes no such provision.