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Charles A. Buss

Trial Court · Mesa · Mesa

Meets Standards(Retain)2 cycles on record

Evaluation history

  • 1998 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Mesa · Mesa
    Meets Standards(Retain)
    VotersRetained· 75.7% yes
    26,253 yes · 8,437 no50% needed to retain
    Retention Year: 1998 Recommendation: Retain The Twenty-first Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously recommends that Judge Charles A. Buss BE RETAINED. Judge Charles Buss graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1968. While at the University of Wisconsin he was a member of the school's Law Review, and graduated in the top 12% of his class. Following his graduation Judge Buss moved to Colorado where he worked in a law firm in Denver, and then began working for Colorado Rural Legal Services in Pueblo, Colorado, administering legal aid on behalf of the poor and needy in that community. He was transferred to CRLS legal services in Grand Junction where he remained until 1973. From 1973 through 1977 he was in private practice in Grand Junction until his appointment to the District Court bench in 1977 by then Governor Lamm. During his time as a District Court judge the Mesa County Court has undergone dramatic changes. The number of judicial officers has increased from four to eight, court filings have increased dramatically, all consistent with the population growth in Grand Junction and Mesa County. Judge Buss currently serves as Chief Judge for Mesa County and the Twenty-first Judicial District. His duties, in addition to carrying a full compliment of cases, include overseeing the entire court operations, probation services, and administration of the courthouse. For fifteen years Judge Buss has served on the statewide Colorado Juvenile Justice Council whose purpose is to improve the status of the juvenile justice system. He was a member of the Mesa County Partner's board, the Mesa County Community Corrections board, and currently serves as a chairman of a court reform committee regarding dependency and neglect which is charged with implementing changes in processing dependency and neglect cases. During his time as a Chief Judge, Judge Buss has led the effort to make many changes in the court system in Mesa County, especially those dealing with how citizens are treated by the court system. The jury service has been modified in order to make the system more understandable and convenient for the jurors; the clerk of court and court system has been streamlined in order to attempt to make it more user friendly to citizens; mediation and small claims court has been implemented; child support collection measures have been taken and increased; educational programs for parents and children in divorce have been implemented; and an outreach effort to have judges speak at public schools has been encouraged. During his career he has handled a number of complicated cases and high profile murder cases. During a regular week, when not participating in trials, his docket provides to him over 100 court appearances from Monday through Friday. Of the attorney's surveyed over 77% recommended that Judge Buss be retained. 92% of the court employees recommended that Judge Buss be retained, and 100% of all law enforcement and crime victims surveyed recommended that Judge Buss be retained. In his interview with the Committee Judge Buss was found to be forthright, honest, and open to questions and suggestions with regard to any improvements. The 21st Judicial District Performance Committee unanimously recommends that Judge Charles A. Buss be retained as a district court judge for the 21st Judicial district court.
  • 1992 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Mesa · Mesa
    Meets Standards(Retain)
    VotersRetained· 66.2% yes
    26,223 yes · 13,373 no50% needed to retain
    Retention Year: 1992 Recommendation: Retain Judge Buss is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 1968. He was engaged in private practice for five years and served as an attorney in Pueblo County and the Colorado Rural Legal Services. Judge Buss has been a Mesa County District Judge since September of 1977. Judge Buss presides over criminal, juvenile, mental health, probate, domestic and civil cases. In addition to reviewing evaluations and comments from jurors, law enforcement, and courthouse personnel and from attorneys who have practiced before Judge Buss, members of the Commission reviewed previous evaluations, observed Judge Buss in court and held three meetings with Judge Buss. This report attempts to summarize the totality of the information obtained. Evaluations received from 26 jurors were very positive and recommended Judge Buss be retained in office Only nine law enforcement personnel responded to the survey. Some responses state Judge Buss treats parties equally, maintains control of the courtroom, works diligently and issues prompt rulings. However, other responses stated Judge Buss’ written and oral rulings are not clear, his courtroom demeanor is inappropriate for a judge; he is discourteous and appears bored with court proceedings. 44% of law enforcement who responded to the survey recommended Judge Buss be retained. 33% recommended he not be retained and 23% had no opinion. Fourteen courthouse personnel (including social services, probation and court clerks) responded to the survey. These responses rated Judge Buss highly in maintaining courtroom control, issuing prompt rulings and using relevant factors in sentencing. However, a majority of the responses describe Judge Buss as arrogant, rude to attorneys, litigants and court personnel, and state his demeanor on the bench is inappropriate. Some of the responses express a general concern about Judge Buss’ work habits, including lack of punctuality and preparation, and that he is away from the office way too much. 64% of the courthouse personnel who responded to the survey recommended Judge Buss not be retained in office. Approximately 59 attorneys who practice before Judge Buss responded to the survey. Some responses criticize him for his moodiness, unpredictable opinions, inappropriate and unpredictable behavior on the bench and general lack of interpersonal relationship skills. Some allege he dwells on obscure legal or procedural issues in an attempt to berate, intimidate and embarrass attorneys. A majority of the responses report he does not display a sense of justice, that his courtroom demeanor is inappropriate, that he is discourteous, lacks compassion and does not work diligently. The attorneys rate him highly on his intellect and knowledge of procedure and evidence issues, that he maintains control of the courtroom and the he sentences fairly. Fifty-eight percent of the attorneys responding to the survey recommended that Judge Buss not be retained, 36% recommended retention and 6% had no opinion. Judge Buss, in response to the criticisms about his courtroom demeanor, promised to take immediate steps to improve in this area. He intends to measure his words with extreme care, avoid inappropriate comments and show more restraint and judgment in the manner in which he addresses attorneys and litigants. He also promised to develop and implement a self-improvement plan to address the asserted deficiencies in his work performance. The Commission is concerned about the low number of responses to the surveys and believes that significant changes must be made in the evaluation process to make the process more reliable. There does not appear to be a strong consensus in favor of retention or opposed to retention. From a total of 108 survey responses, 54 recommended retention, 46 recommended no retention and 8 had no opinion. Because of the mixed responses from the survey and the inability of the Commission to obtain additional data that was conclusive, the 21st Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends No Opinion on the retention of Judge Charles A. Buss. The conclusion was not unanimous.

Surveys & reports

No survey reports on record for this judge.

Sources