New District Court Judgeship Created for 13th Judicial District, Applications Now Open

Colorado's 13th Judicial District is adding another judge this summer, and the application window is now open. The Colorado Judicial Branch announced the new district court judgeship on March 23, 2026, setting in motion a nominating process that will place a new jurist on the bench serving Logan, Morgan, Kit Carson, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington, and Yuma counties.

The seat is the second new district court judgeship the 13th District has received under Senate Bill 25-024, the 2025 state law that increases the number of district court judges in the 13th and several other judicial districts over a two-year period. Under that law, the number of judges for the 13th Judicial District rises to six, effective July 1, 2026. The district's first judgeship under SB25-024 went to Kimbra L. Killin, appointed by Governor Polis to the 13th Judicial District Court with an effective date of July 1, 2025.

The 13th Judicial District Nominating Commission will meet at the Kit Carson County Combined Court on Wednesday, May 22, to interview and select nominees to forward to the governor. Under Colorado's merit selection system, the commission selects two or three finalists, and the governor reviews and interviews them before making the final appointment.

To qualify, a candidate must be a qualified elector of the 13th Judicial District at the time of investiture and must have been admitted to the practice of law in Colorado for five years. The position carries a current annual salary of $168,202. The initial term of office is a provisional two years; after that, if retained by voters, the judge serves a full six-year term.

Application forms are available from two offices: Justice Melissa Hart, the ex officio chair of the nominating commission, at 2 E. 14th Ave., Denver, CO 80203; and Douglas Short, district administrator for the 13th Judicial District, at 110 N. Riverview Rd., Room 200, Sterling, CO 80751.

The new judgeship arrives as Colorado courts have faced mounting caseload pressure. SB25-024 increases by one the number of district court judges in the 13th, as well as the fourth, seventh, seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth judicial districts, effective July 1, 2026. For the 2025-26 state fiscal year, the act appropriates $2,638,326 from the general fund to the judicial department to implement the increased number of judges.

For attorneys practicing within the seven-county district who meet the eligibility threshold, the May 22 commission meeting in Kit Carson County marks the decisive moment in the selection calendar.