Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Monica Márquez Friday called on the Legislature to approve a spending increase for new judges in the state.

“Many of our judges are routinely working nights and weekends, unable to take time off to attend training or to take care of sick family members, let alone tend to their own health,” she said during the annual State of the Judiciary address at the Capitol.

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Referring to a bill introduced Wednesday, the first day of the 2025 legislative session, she said, “For judges in the jurisdictions targeted in the bill, the current situation is simply unsustainable. We cannot ask our judges, day in and day out, to be making consequential decisions impacting people’s lives when they are running on empty tanks.”

Senate Bill 25-024 would implement the Judicial Department’s request to add district court judges beginning this year in the 8th, 13th, 19th and 23rd judicial districts and add county court judges in Douglas, La Plata, Larimer, Mesa, Weld, Eagle, Adams and Arapahoe counties. Other districts and the Denver probate court, would get judge increases in 2026. It is sponsored by Senator Dylan Roberts, a Frisco Democrat, and Senator Lisa Frizell, a Castle Rock Republican.

The bill’s cost would be about $13.2 million for the upcoming fiscal year, according to a budget briefing for the department.

“In recognition of the obvious budget realities of this year, our judge request does not seek to fully staff our courts. It would merely provide some relief to those districts facing the greatest need,” Márquez said, acknowledging this year’s intense budget deficit, which could exceed $700 million.

Legislative leaders say that budget reality will make any new programs or spending requests difficult to pass. Amid a tight focus on where to make spending cuts, any bill with a high price tag will be a tough sell.

“We can’t afford any of it,” Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer, a Brighton Republican, said during a Tuesday Joint Budget Committee hearing with Márquez. “From my perspective, being a good partner is you (helping) us find where we’re going to make cuts. Certainly not make increases.”

Disruptors in the virtual courtroom

In her Friday remarks, Márquez also spoke about a need to adopt new technology to facilitate virtual courtrooms, which have become increasingly common since the COVID-19 pandemic. She said the business meeting platform the courts currently use was never meant to function as a virtual courtroom, and creates vulnerabilities for disruptors to attack proceedings.

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“These are individuals who sneak into virtual courtrooms, sometimes posing as actual parties and witnesses, and they hijack the proceedings by screaming racial epithets at litigants and judges and streaming pornographic, racist or violent video,” she said. “I’ve heard directly from several judges around the state about the mental and emotional impact that these nearly daily attacks have had on them and our court staff.”

She thanked the JBC for authorizing $200,000 in emergency spending for a technology solution proposal request.

Márquez also acknowledged the influx of new employees in the judicial system over the last five years. She said that over half of the state’s judges were appointed in 2020 or later, and 80 percent of chief judges have been in their leadership roles for only a “handful” of years.

“This true transformation of the department has presented a fertile environment for the seeds of our workplace culture initiative to take root,” she said.

She began that initiative in 2022 to improve workplace culture and staff well-being. It relies on value statements developed from employees and district leaders, she said.

Márquez became chief justice in July 2024 and is the first Latina to hold the state’s top judicial position. She has served on the Colorado Supreme Court since 2010.

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