Right in front of you is a tall, modern building with sweeping glass windows and grand, white columns-just look for the structure that gleams proudly across the street from the Colorado State Capitol, with its name: Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center.
Alright, take a deep breath and let your imagination time-travel. We’re about to unravel the story of justice-Colorado style! Since 1876, the Colorado Supreme Court has been the busiest referee in the land when it comes to state law. Judges in black robes don’t exactly ride into courtrooms on horses these days, but in the old days, it might have felt that way. The Supreme Court started out in the original state capitol, but by the late 1970s, it got a building of its own-raised bizarrely high on two giant columns that made it look more like a modern art sculpture than a courthouse. Fun fact: underneath that building was a 150-foot mural depicting historical figures famous for justice, like Moses, Hammurabi, and Martin Luther King Jr. If you’d stood here back then, you'd have seen people pressing their noses to a window in the sidewalk, trying to catch a glimpse down into the law library below.
Of course, even murals don’t last forever-the old building was imploded in 2010 to make way for what you see before you: the sleek, impressive Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center, named after a governor known for bravely opposing Japanese American internment during World War II. Now, within these walls, seven justices-one chief and six associates-shape how the laws of Colorado are interpreted. They’re chosen through a process that’s sort of like a job interview, reality show, and election, all rolled into one. First, hopefuls apply to a judicial commission, which hands three names to the governor. The governor picks a lucky winner, who serves a two-year test run before facing a retention election. Keep your fingers crossed-since 1966, no justice has ever lost! Not even on Judge Survivor: Denver Edition.
Inside, imagine stepping into a court session. The fifth floor courtroom’s circular well is almost theatrical, with a bright podium in the middle (I always think it looks like a stick of lipstick), surrounded by a semicircular bench where the justices sit. Through grand, brass-colored doors, the judges process in, ready to decide the fate of some of Colorado’s trickiest legal mysteries. Not all cases make it here; the justices pick just a handful of certiorari petitions for review each year-only about 6% get their day in Supreme sunlight. Most people wait a lifetime for their number to be called, so lawyers get very excited whenever they hear from the top court!
The Supreme Court’s reach goes far beyond Denver: it handles big-ticket cases, like water rights, election disputes, attorney discipline, and even giant questions about the state’s constitution. Over the years, this court has tackled hot-button issues-a ballot initiative to repeal the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, the nationwide fight for LGBTQ rights in Romer v. Evans, plastic bag fees in Aspen, rule battles over oil and gas drilling, and even the fiery 2023 decision that briefly barred Donald Trump from Colorado’s presidential ballot under the insurrection clause.
All the court’s opinions are posted for the world to see, first as “slip opinions” online, and eventually published in law books with names like the Pacific Reporter and Colorado Reporter. So every word spoken in those stately halls can echo for decades-or, as I like to say, nobody ever really retires from the Colorado Supreme Court... at least, not their words! Speaking of retirement, judges must hang up their robes at 72, but not before they’ve baked up a few more spicy legal decisions.
So as you stand here, look up and imagine the layers of history, drama, and debate inside this building-where laws are not just written but argued, shaped, and set in Colorado stone. Next time you walk past a courtroom, give the building a respectful nod-after all, this is where justice is always in session, and the next chapter could be written any day!
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