The percentage of Black and Latino judges in Colorado dramatically underrepresents those racial groups relative to the population as a whole, an analysis from The Denver Post has found.

Of 196 district court judges, Black jurists were 2.5% of the total, compared to 4% of all Coloradans who are Black. For Latinos, the percentage was 7.6% of judges and 20% of the general population. Combined, Black and Latino judges are approximately 10% of appointees to county courts.

Denver County Court Judge Gary Jackson told The Post that “despite Colorado being considered a progressive state, we were reaching an embarrassing point of zero Black judges at the highest levels.”

Gov. Jared Polis recently appointed four black district court judges in Denver and El Paso counties. Governors appoint judges to county and district trial courts. Only in Denver does the mayor fill vacancies at the county level. Judicial nominating commissions receive applications, and then forward the names of three finalists for the appointment. A lack of diverse applicants, the lower levels of diversity among law school graduating classes and the secretive process of reviewing applications are all factors in the disparity.

Among the 682 prosecutors in the state’s 22 judicial districts, 81% are white. In the public defender’s office, the percentage is 89%. This compares to approximately 40% of defendants being people of color. The relative lack of diversity in the judicial pipeline may be self-reinforcing.

“I know law students of color who were thought to be the client or the victim, and not a law student,” University of Denver associate law professor Rashmi Goel said to The Post. “And if you already have imposter syndrome, that’s just going to amplify that.”