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2960 Dory Hill Road, Suite 200
In 2012 the Equal Justice Foundation began a rating system of justices standing for retention based on the votes of attorneys who submit responses to surveys sent to them by the Judicial Performance Review Commission. The idea was first put forward by the Rocky Mountain News in an October 13, 2002, editorial. Whether a “Retain” or “Do Not Retain” is recommended is based on the criteria:
• Retain: More than 85% of attorneys voted to retain;
• Marginal: in 2012 the standard was that only 80-85% of attorneys voted to retain. In 2014 review this was broadened to 75-85% and in 2018 the standard was expanded again to 71-85% of attorneys voted to retain;
• Do Not Retain: In 2012 the standard was less than 80% of attorneys voted to retain. In 2014 review this was changed to <75% of attorneys voted to retain and in 2018 this was lowered even further to less than or equal <=70% suggesting judicial standards continue to decline.
Problem-solving courts are innovative criminal justice programs that seek rehabilitation over incarceration. The goal is to treat the underlying issues that lead to criminal behaviors, which have proven resistant to conventional solutions. The 1st Judicial District as of 2018 has five such specialized courts.
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Denied remedy employed to bring evidence of fraud in challenged title conveyance. Refused to apply Rule 60 to accept newly acquired evidence of fraud even though the case was on-going. |
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Accused a juror of contempt because she would not agree to convict. |
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Promoted to Colorado Supreme Court by Gov. Hickenlooper in October 2011. |
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Appointed by Gov. Polis on December 3, 2020. Replaced Christine Phillips. |
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Only a pathetic 55% of attorneys voted to Retain and 35% voted Do Not Retain. |
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Appointed district court judge by Gov. Polis on November 16, 2023, to replace Judge Arp. She was previously a county court judge in the 18 th Judicial District. |
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Appointed district judge in 2007. Replaced Peter Weir. Formerly Deputy District Attorney. |
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Appointed district judge in April 2016 by Gov. Hickenlooper. Formerly in private practice. |
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89% of attorneys voted to Retain and only 4% voted Do Not Retain. |
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Appointed to federal judgeship in Tenth Circuit in July 2010. |
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Denied jury trial on morning of trial even though the fee was paid and all pre-trial preparations were timely submitted by pro se litigant whose car had been repossessed by lender without prior notice. Judge Jackson then ruled in favor of the lender who had no evidence to support their action. |
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Appointed by Gov. Polis on January 1, 2020. Previously with Office of Colorado Attorney General. |
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Just 82% of attorneys voted to Retain and 12% voted Do Not Retain. |
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Appointed by Gov. Polis on August 5, 2019. Prior to his appointment he served with the U.S. State Department in Afghanistan. |
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Appointed district court judge by Gov. Polis effective September 1, 2023. He was formerly a magistrate. |
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This time just 81% of attorneys voted to Retain and 11% voted Do Not Retain. |
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Appointed district court judge by Gov. Polis effective March 1, 2023. She was formerly a magistrate. |
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No longer on bench as of September 1, 2024. She was apparently replaced by Judge Lindsay VanGilder. |
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Appointed district court judge by Gov. Hickenlooper in October 2011. |
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Declined to postpone proceedings and instead terminated a father's parental rights as he struggled to connect to the virtual hearing. The Court of Appeals ruled that Judge Meinster should have granted the request to postpone the February 2021 hearing after the father was present but had difficulty connecting to public wireless Internet. |
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Resigned in July 2009 to return to being an assistant U.S. Attorney. |
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Appointed by Bill Owens in September 2006. Formerly assistant U.S. attorney and prosecutor in 1 st Judicial District. |
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Retired June 1, 2016. Good riddance we thought, but this arrogant black-robed public menace remains a senior judge as of September 2020. Replaced by Diego Hunt. |
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Terminated foreclosure procedure to cover up illegal acts that unlawfully converted a mortgage contract to the purchaser of a lien. Homeowner's right to redeem under Colorado law was voided and life savings stolen by “court order.” |
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Obstruction of justice in a divorce. Held that division of marital property could be made before complete disclosure of such property. |
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Stalin noted “... it is completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this—who will count the votes, and how.” |
Retired November 2014 and the state is better off without him. Formerly chief judge. But as of September 2020 this disgrace to the judiciary remains a senior judge. |
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Observed giving credence to relative of his appearing before him as attorney but who had not entered an appearance. Showed favoritism toward relative in his rulings. |
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Egregiously ignored Constitutional right, Article VII, Section 8, of citizens to a secret ballot |
In Colorado Union of Taxpayers, et al. vs. West Metro Fire Protection District, et al. Munsinger ruled for the defendant despite clear and voluminous evidence that voted ballots were viewed simultaneously with voter identifying information, that simultaneous visibility of votes and voter information was systemic, that voted ballots were systemically marked with voter identifying data, that lack of ballot secrecy was publicly known, and refused to void the election as required by law. |
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Promoted to Court of Appeals in November 1999. Ineffective there and stepped down in March 2005 although this mediocrity remained senior judge until at least the end of 1999. |
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In a Kafkaesque scenario Laura Kriho was charged with felony perjury for what she didn't say in response to questions that were never asked in voir dire during jury selection. |
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On April 29, 1999, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled 2-to1 to reverse the contempt of court conviction against Laura Kriho, |
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Columbine kin rip judicial pick Appointed despite disgraceful behavior in Columbine investigation. |
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Illegally evicted a family and their three children into the night in January 1995 after refusing them a jury trial. |
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Appointed district court judge by Gov. Hickenlooper in July 2013. Formerly in private practice. |
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This time only 57% of attorneys voted to Retain and 26% voted Do Not Retain. |
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Appointed district court judge by Gov. Polis effective June 1, 2024. He was formerly a magistrate for just a year. |
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Appointed district court judge by Gov. Polis effective July 29, 2023. Previously he was a Senior Lead Deputy District Attorney in the 17 th Judicial District. |
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Violated Rule 38 and refused a jury trial — controlled the outcome of the case to suppress proven and admitted fraud. |
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Only 66% of attorneys voted to Retain while 24% voted Do Not Retain. |
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No longer on bench as of September 2014 but, sadly, this disgrace to the judiciary remains a senior judge as of September 2020. |
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Promoted from magistrate in 20 th Judicial District to district judge in August 1998. |
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Clearly she was not able to adapt to being a district judge. |
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Gov. Hickenlooper appointed her to district judge in November 2014. She was previously in private practice. |
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EJF recommendation: Do Not Retain Only a pathetic 53% of attorneys voted to Retain while 44% voted Do Not Retain. |
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Jefferson County) / G (Gilpin County -District Criminal Matters) |
Appointed district judge by Gov. Polis in January 2020. Previously with Denver District Attorney's Office in the juvenile unit. |
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88% of attorneys voted to Retain but 12% voted Do Not Retain. |
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01Division11@judicial.state.co.us Appears to have been assigned to Gilpin County Court to cover his weaknesses. |
Appointed district court judge by Gov. Hickenlooper in May 2014. Previously in private practice. |
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Apparently his performance on the bench has greatly improved as this time 83% of attorneys voted to Retain but still 15% voted Do Not Retain. |
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Reports were that this judge was polite, fair and faithful to the law. |
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Appointed district judge by Gov. Hickenlooper in December 2011. |
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Just 74% of attorneys voted to Retain, and 17% voted Do Not Retain. |
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Stood for retention 2004. A pathetic 35% of attorneys recommended retention. |
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Not recommended for retention in the strongest terms in 2008. Only 44% of attorneys voted for retention. Citizens voted not to retain her in November 2008 election 124,856 No to 101,012 for retention. |
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Appointed county court judge in 2008. Previously a magistrate. |
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Only 75% of attorneys voted to Retain while 17% voted Do Not Retain. |
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She clearly cannot handle her position and attorneys consistently gave her very low ratings until 2024. |
Appointed county court judge in 2008. Prior to that she was chief deputy DA in Denver. |
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EJF recommendation: Do Not Retain Just 64% of attorneys voted to Retain while 24% voted Do Not Retain. |
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This time 88% of attorneys voted to Retain yet 13% still voted Do Not Retain. |
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Stood for retention in 2008. Pathetically only 58% of attorneys recommended he be retained. |
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In early 2005 DeVita was officially reprimanded for rude behavior to a pro se litigant while he was a magistrate. |
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Retired June 30, 2019 and apparently returned to private practice. |
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Appointed April 3, 2020 by Gov. Polis. Replaced Jean Woodford. Previously in private practice and a public defender. |
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Appointed county court judge by Gov. Polis in November 2022. Previously he was in private practice as an associate at Hall & Evans. |
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80% of attorneys voted to Retain yet 20% voted Do Not Retain. |
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Appointed county court judge by Gov. Ritter in January 2011. |
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Retired in mid-2004. On bench since 1975 without advancement but as of November 2018 this mediocrity remains a senior judge. |
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Denied a child justice and tried her in an adult court without authority or representation. |
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Imposed a restraining order sua sponte and in violation of court rules on a man simply and specifically because he had been in the Marine Corps. |
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She was rated well below her peers on performance scores. Her extensive experience does not seem to help her as a judge. |
Appointed by Gov. Polis in March 2019. Prior to her appointment she served as Presiding Judge for the municipal courts of Golden and Northglenn, and also as a magistrate for Denver County Court. Also worked as law clerk for Court of Appeals and as a prosecutor. |
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Only a pitiful 61% of attorneys voted to Retain while 17% voted Do Not Retain. |
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Appointed by Gov, Polis in July of 2019. In private practice before stepping up to the bench. |
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83% of attorneys voted to Retain while 13% voted Do Not Retain. |
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In 2016 she was placed on performance improvement plan to remedy an increasing pattern of absences, poor time and docket management, and deficient staff supervision. |
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Appointed county court judge by Gov. Polis on April 28, 2022. Previously he was in private practice. |
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91% of attorneys voted to Retain and only 9% voted Do Not Retain. |
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Appointed county court judge in January 2011 by Gov. Hickenlooper. |
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EJF recommendation: Do Not Retain Only 70% of attorneys voted to Retain and most thought he was biased towards the prosecution. |
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According to citizen input on Clear The Bench Judge Randall allowed multiple procedural violations in a three day trial on misdemeanor Interference of Government Operations involving the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. Judge Randall failed to notify jury members on the constitutionality of jury nullification. Randall advised jury members to disregard procedural violations prior to jury deliberations. Judge Randall runs his courtroom in accordance with protecting big government. |
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Given very poor rating in Oct. 13, 2002, Rocky Mountain News article. |
Did not stand for retention in 2010 and no longer on bench. But this black-robed menace to society remains a senior judge as of September 2020. |
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Stood for retention in 2002. Only a pathetic 61% of attorneys voted for retention. |
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Wrote an article for the Summer 1996 issue of the Judge's Journal explaining how to prosecute 'obstructionist' jurors. |
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Appointed county judge by Gov. Hickenlooper in March 2017. Prior to that he was chief deputy district attorney in 1 st Judicial District. |
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Promoted to District Court Judge in 18 th Judicial District by Gov. Hickenlooper on December 19, 2018. |
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Promoted from magistrate to county court judge in August 2012. |
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Appointed county court judge by Gov. Hickenlooper in January 2015. Replaced David Gloss. |
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94% of attorneys voted to Retain with just 6% voting Do Not Retain. |
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Appointed by Gov. Bill Owens in July 2004. Former Jefferson County magistrate. |
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Promoted to Jefferson County Court Judge by Gov. Polis on July 1, 2021. Formerly a magistrate in the 17 th Judicial District. She replaced Judge Thomas Vance. |
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Just 77% of attorneys voted to Retain and 18% voted Do Not Retain. |
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Appointed by Gov. Hickenlooper in August 2012. No prior judicial experience. |
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Despite his dismal record as a magistrate he was promoted to Jefferson County judge where he didn't last. |
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In early 2005 DeVita was officially reprimanded for rude behavior to a pro se litigant. Afterward he was promoted to county judge. |
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On March 11, 2005, an EJF member found him fair and courteous in dealing with child support issues. |
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Promoted to Douglas County court judge in the 18 th Judicial District by Gov. Polis on November 8, 2019. |
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Since 2002 she has been a district judge in the 18th Judicial District. Toward the better good, she retired July 1, 2016. |
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Insulted and screamed at a father, a U.S. Marshall, from the bench, refused to look at the previous court record with vital evidence in the father's favor, endorsed her own parenting skills because she had read Dr. Spock, and threatened to terminate father's custody rights because “She can!” |
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Promoted to district court judge by Gov. Polis on September 1, 2023. |
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Promoted to district court judge by Gov. Polis effective March 1, 2023. |
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Promoted to county court judge in 2008 where she had a dismal record. |
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Promoted to juvenile court judge in 2nd Judicial District by Gov. Polis in April 2020. |
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An attorney reported she showed bias to mothers and against fathers. She also misapplies the law and allows perjury and hearsay by mothers, even over objections. Will not enforce father's parenting time. |
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Works to find solutions for fathers behind on child support. Lauded by Denver Post columnist Tina Griego, September 4, 2011. She was one of three recipients of the 2014 Judicial Excellence Awards, hosted by the Colorado Judicial Institute (CJI). |
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| EJF Home | Join the EJF | Comments? | Get EJF newsletter | Newsletters |
| DV Home | Abstract | Contents | Tables | Index | Bibliography |
| Chapter 7 — Colorado Judges — Citizen's Review |
| Next — Second Judicial District |
| Back — Colorado Court of Appeals |
This site is supported and maintained by the Equal Justice Foundation.