Opinion ID: 166623
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Failure to Perform Mandatory Testing

Text: 31 Because the Judicial System Personnel Rules did not require the Department to administer a formal examination, its failure to do so is not a procedural irregularity. Colorado state agencies follow the so-called rule of three, which provides the appointing authority with complete discretion to select any one of the top three applicants for a position. See Conde v. Colo. State Dept. of Personnel, 872 P.2d 1381, 1388 (Colo.App.1994) (A necessary ingredient of the rule of three is the appointing authority's right to select any of the highest three applicants.) (quotations omitted). The Colorado Judicial System Personnel Rules accordingly give the Chief Probation Officer full discretion to select any of the top three candidates for a position. Colorado Judicial System Personnel Rule 18.B.1, Appellant's App. at 78, 80-84. Because the applicant pool had been reduced to three, the Chief Probation Officer had full discretion to choose from among the remaining candidates. The CJD was not required to conduct interviews or testing. Benway Dep., Appellant's App. at 80-81, 277. For the same reasons, Ms. Jaramillo's allegation that the CJD evaluated the candidates using subjective criteria, even if true, is not evidence of procedural irregularity. 32