COLORADO JUDICIAL PERFORMANCE COMMISSION

Public Comment1 concerning the retention of the 18th Judicial District Chief Justice

Carlos Armando Samour, Jr.

March 29, 2016

Due date: April 1, 2016
RE: Comment concerning Chief Justice Carlos Samour, Jr. for retention as judge in
Colorado 18th Judicial District by the Colorado Judicial Performance Commission.
Submitted by:
Mr. Peter Coulter
151 Summer Street #654,
Morrison, Colorado, 80465.
Email: Coloradojudicialperformancereview@gmail.com
Location of Court:
Arapahoe County 18th Judicial District Court,
7325 South Potomac Street,
Centenial, Colorado 80112.
Date(s) of Interaction:

1. First time contacted, no response: July, 2014. Resent letter

that was previously addressed to the past Chief Justice, William
Sylvester concerning behavior and acts of Judge Pratt2, Judge
Cross, Magistrate Burns and Head Clerk Tammy Herivel and
attorney G. Raymond Goodwin.
2. Second time contacted: August 2015. Concerning picketing and
protest at the Arapahoe County Justice Center. Clerk gave us
directive of Judge Samour that pickets were not allowed on Court
grounds.
3. Third time contacted, no response: March, 2016. Again
requesting permission to picket/protest on Arapahoe County
Justice Center grounds pursuant to Federal Court Order that
found identical directive, directly copied by Denver Chief

C.R.S. 13-5.5-101 et. seq.

I and many other pro-se litigants never received surveys after being in front of Judge Pratt during his last retention
period.
2

Page 1 of 4 COMMENT ON RETENTION OF CHIEF JUSTICE CARLOS ARMANDO SAMOUR, Jr.

Justice Michael Martinez, unconstitutional by Federal Court

District Judge Martinez.34

CITIZEN FEEDBACK
The Colorado Constitution, Article 6 [Judicial Department]
Section 5 [Personnel of Court-Department-Chief Justice]; subsection
4 states as follows:
(4) The chief justice [of the Supreme Court] shall appoint from
the district judges of each judicial district a chief judge to
serve at the pleasure of the chief justice. A chief judge shall
receive no additional salary by reason of holding such position.
Each chief judge shall have and exercise such administrative
powers over all judges of all courts within his district as may
be delegated to him by the chief justice.
The protocol for all Chief District Court judges in Colorado states:
In addition to maintaining a docket, as chief judge, Samour
will
be responsible
for
appointing
the
district
administrator, chief probation officer, and clerks of the
court; assisting in the personnel, financial, and casemanagement duties of the district; and seeing that the
business of the courts is conducted efficiently and
effectively.
Judge Carlos Samour is the appointed Chief Justice of the 18th
judicial district under Supreme Court Chief Justice Nancy Rice and
as such is directly responsible for the actions of the judges and
administration under his control and direction.
Previous survey results for retention of 62.18%5 have noted
him for his knowledge of law and fairness but that is only 50% of
his job. As Chief Justice, he also has an equal responsibility to
make sure the 18th Judicial District and all of its actors are
complying with the Constitution and laws of Colorado. That has not
been done to the detriment of myself and hundreds if not thousands
3

August 25th, 2015, Federal US District Judge William Martinez [no relation] blocked the Denver Justices Directive
saying it is almost always in the public interest to prevent a first amendment violation.
4
On 3/28/2016, I was contacted by a court personal who indicated the directive was on hold pending review by the
10th circuit Court of Appeals. The fact that the Directive of Judge Samour has not been suspended by himself, confirms
that he does not respect pro-se litigants right to protest the corrupted actions under his watch.
5
This low retention rate of 62% by voters was in sharp contrast to his survey review which recommended a 95%
retention level. I believe the discrepancy is due to the non-inclusion of pro-se litigants in many surveys and Judge
Samours negligence in correcting serious issues of those under his command and control.

Page 2 of 4 COMMENT ON RETENTION OF CHIEF JUSTICE CARLOS ARMANDO SAMOUR, Jr.

of other pro-se litigants.6 It is easy to uphold the Constitutional

rights of lawyer represented civil and criminal clients. The
challenge is making sure that civil pro-se litigants constitutional
rights are equally protected by judges who have taken a solemn oath
to do so. That is Judge Samours absolute responsibility as Chief
Judge; to be vigilant and responsive to the unethical, submissive,
and even criminal actions of actors of the 18th Judicial District of
Colorado. Every example, good or bad, is set from the top. If Judge
Samour allows these travesties, those under him will follow his lead
knowing there is no accountability or recourse for their actions.
I have interacted with Justice Samour on 4 occasions:
1. Criminal removal of Jury Demands, Fees, Motions and Supreme
Court Orders by Judge Pratt, Magistrate Burns and Head Clerk
Tammy Herivel from official court files and therefore
promoting Fraud on the Court.7 [July, 2014]
2. Unethical behavior of Judge Pratt, Judge Cross and Attorney
G. Raymond Goodwin in the submittal of a non-ripe, fraudulent
motion and subsequent granting by Judge Cross during halftime of the Super bowl Sunday.8 [July 2014]
3. Behavior
and
actions
of
Judge
Fasing,
and
Public
Administrator attorney Tamra Palmer and Jennifer Gromley9 in
regard to continued abuses to fellow pro-se probate litigants
resulting in the devastation of innocent families and loss
of millions of dollars in estates.
4. Twice writing to Judge Samour about being able to protest
our first amendment rights to free speech on the Court
grounds in Centennial.
The first time, we were sent a
directive from Judge Samours office that there would not be
any protesters allowed on the grounds and we had to protest
out on the sidewalk. After a judge found that same directive
[which was copied and used by Denver] to be unconstitutional,
again I contacted his office to see if we could now protest

According to a 2014 study by the Colorado Supreme Court, 51% of all civil litigants in Colorado are now pro-se.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/colorado-judiciary/denver-colorado-80202/colorado-judiciary-edward-burnscharles-m-pratt-christopher-cross-michael-bender-greg-723512
7

http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/colorado-judiciary/centennial-colorado-80112/colorado-judiciary-charles-m-prattedward-burns-tammy-herivel-raymond-goodwin-christo-722796
9

http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Jennifer-S-Gromley-Tamra-Palmer/GREENWOOD-VILLAGE-Colorado8I0111/Jennifer-S-Gromley-Tamra-Palmer-Palmer-Goertzel-and-Associates-PC-Matthew-Alex-Dil-1131260

Page 3 of 4 COMMENT ON RETENTION OF CHIEF JUSTICE CARLOS ARMANDO SAMOUR, Jr.

on the grounds. There has been no response up until the date

of this document and the directive is still in place.

The Judges and Administration under Chief Justice Samour have

been allowed to run wild and commit criminal atrocities while under
his watch. They are under his direct charge and responsibility. The
18th Judicial District has failed miserably under his example and
he should not be retained for another 6 years to let this malfeasance
continue while innocent pro-se civil litigants are being harmed on
a daily basis by shameless judges and actors.
Thank you for your time and consideration in these important matters.
Sincerely,
/s/Peter Coulter
cc:
18th Judicial District
Commissioners:
Mr. Donald Toussaint, Esq.
Chair

Ms. Linda Hannen

Ms. Patricia Shaver

Mr. Russel Lengel

Ms. Susan Thornton

Ms. Judith McCarthy

Ms. Lauri McKager, District

administrator

Ms. Wanda McDavid

Ms. Michelle Faulk, Esq.

Ms. Laura Page, Esq.

Ms. Valerie Garcia, Esq.

_________________________________________
State Judicial Performance

Ms. Christina Habas, Esq.

Mr. William Sobesky, Phd.

Commissioners:

Ms. Suzanne Jalbert, Phd.

Mr. Rolland Williams

Ms. Heather Hanneman, Chair

Mr. Michael Maday, MSW

Mr. Edward Harvey, V. Chair

Mr. David Kaplan, Esq.

Mr. Kent Wagner, Esq.

director of CJPC

Mr. Scott Gessler, Esq.

Ms, Michelle Randall-Garcia

_________________________________________

Colorado Supreme Court c/o

Mr. Matt Arnold, Clear the bench Colorado

Ms. Terry Morrison, Esq.

Governor Hickenlooper

Mr Art Kane, Watchdog.org

Colorado Senators and Legislators

Mr. Jeff Roberts,

Page 4 of 4 COMMENT ON RETENTION OF CHIEF JUSTICE CARLOS ARMANDO SAMOUR, Jr.