Joint Judiciary

Wednesday, January 21, 2026·4h 45m·▶ Watch / Listen

In a marathon briefing session, the Joint Judiciary Committee heard from the courts, the Parole Board, and a chain of justice-system agencies, with Chief Justice Monica Marquez warning of rising violence against judges and incarcerated 'Legislation Inside' representatives arguing Colorado can only shrink its corrections budget by shrinking its prison population.

Key Actions

·judicial-branch-presentationNo vote

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Notable Quotes

“The bottom line for me is my greatest nightmare as chief justice is that I will lose a judicial officer or an employee or a member of the public visiting our courthouses to violence sometime on my watch.”
Chief Justice Monica Marquez · witness — Marquez framed the branch's security funding request against a documented rise in threats and violence at Colorado courthouses.

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TranscriptPreview

The committee will come to order. Ms. Shipley, please call the roll. Representatives and Senators. Bacon. Caldwell. Excused. Carson carter. Excused. Clifford gordy. Excused. Town degraff. Right here. Espinosa. Here. Flel Garcia. Here. Nuron. Excused. Kelty. Here. Roberts. Here. Wallace. Here. Zamora Wilson. Present. Zokai. Excused. Weissman. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Here. All right, members, we are starting on time today and maybe, maybe we can stick to the schedule and get out of here before 5:00 today. First, we are joined by the judicial branch. We have our honorable Chief justice of the Supreme Court, Monica Marquez here, and I will pass it to you to start your presentation. Thank you for being here. Thank you. Appreciate the opportunity. Mr. Chair, I'm Monica Marcus and today with me is our State Court Administrator, Stephen Vasconcellos. I also want to mention that we are joined today by Chief Judge Susan Blanco of the 8th Judicial District, who will be coming to the table to join and cover a portion of our presentation. I'm the senior justice on the Supreme Court where I've served for 15 years. And in July 2024, I began a three year term as Chief Justice. And…

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