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Stephen L. Carter

Trial Court · Garfield · Garfield

Meets Standards(Retain)4 cycles on record

Evaluation history

  • 2002 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Garfield · Garfield
    Meets Standards(Retain)
    Retention Year: 2002 Recommendation: Retain Reports: 2002 Retention Survey Report Need an accessible PDF Document Version? Please click on the link below and email our staff Contact Us The Ninth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Stephen L. Carter BE RETAINED. Judge Carter was appointed as Associate County Judge for Garfield County in 1972 and has served continuously in that capacity for the past 30 years. He has also served as Acting District Judge for juvenile cases in the Ninth Judicial District since February 1, 1997. The Commission interviewed Judge Carter on April 19, 2002. A public survey was randomly conducted among people that have been involved in the judicial system with Judge Carter. Thirty-one attorneys were surveyed of which 21 responded. The non-attorney survey responses included 52 law enforcement officers, 17 court employee responses, 19 defendant responses, 10 plaintiff responses, 91 juror responses, four victim responses and 18 other responses. Of the attorneys surveyed, 86% recommended retention and 14% recommended non-retention. Of the non-attorneys surveyed, 82% recommended retention, 10% recommended non-retention and 8% had no opinion. Judge Carter’s compassion, sincerity and commitment to his role as a Juvenile Court Judge are very apparent. He stays in touch with the youth in the community by speaking to schools about the judicial system and referees soccer throughout the valley. The Commission strongly recommends retaining Judge Carter for another term.
  • 1998 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Garfield · Garfield
    Meets Standards(Retain)
    Retention Year: 1998 Recommendation: Retain The Ninth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Stephen L. Carter BE RETAINED. Judge Carter has served as Associate County Judge for Garfield County in Rifle for 26 years. The various categories responding to questionnaires returned to the Commission on Judicial Performance recommended the retention of Judge Carter. The written comments about Judge Carter were varied without a strong or distinct pattern. These were discussed in detail with Judge Carter by the Commission. The Respondents scoring was also mixed but overall positive. One important and significant part of Judge Carter's duties has not attracted the attention it deserves, either in the community or in the analysis or reports made for the use of the Commission. Judge Carter serves as Acting District Judge for juvenile delinquency cases in Garfield County. As such, Judge Carter handles the great majority of juvenile delinquency cases. The Commission believes that in this demanding function, Judge Carter has demonstrated superior qualities - particularly compassion and patience, and that his service has been commendable. Percentage rates for the retention of Judge Carter are: Attorneys 90.5%, Court Personnel 91.7%, Law Enforcement Personnel 93.9%, Jurors 85.7%, and Litigants 71.4%. The Ninth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Stephen L. Carter be retained in office.
  • 1994 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Garfield · Garfield
    Meets Standards(Do Not Retain)
    Retention Year: 1994 Recommendation: Retain Judge Carter was appointed to the County Court bench in Rifle in 1972. He was served for 22 years. This is a part-time position. Previously he was a deputy district attorney. He has a law practice in Rifle. His cases are chiefly traffic, criminal and some civil. Of the many persons who have been in his courtroom, only a few have responded to the questionnaire. Of the 15 litigants returning evaluations, the answers to such questions as “displays a sense of justice” and “courteous” and “retain – do not retain” tend to be roughly 60-40 in his favor. Demeanor, impartiality and punctuality rate higher. Of the 16 attorneys returning evaluations, the answers were more favorable to Judge Carter, and the evaluations returned  represented a larger portion of persons with experience before him. Seventy-five percent of more were favorable in most categories with higher scores on promptness of rulings and decisions, on maintaining courtroom control, and sentencing upon relevant factors and fair sentencing, with a lower score on courtesy. The Ninth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Stephen L. Carter BE RETAINED.
  • 1990 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Garfield · Garfield
    Meets Standards(Retain)
    Retention Year: 1990 Recommendation: Retain Judicial Performance Commission’s recommendation: Should Be Retained. Judge Carter presides as county judge in Rifle. His position is part-time and he also has an active private practice which includes serving as Rifle City Attorney, a position he has held since 1976. Carter presides over misdemeanor criminal cases, traffic cases, civil cases involving less than $5,000 ($10,000 effective Jan. 1, 1991) and small claims cases. Carter received an undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado in journalism in 1967. He received a law degree from the University of Colorado in 1971. Between college and law school he served in the Peace Corps in Colombia. He was admitted to practice law in Colorado in October 1971 and worked for 9 months for the District Attorney’s office in Glenwood Springs. In June 1972, he moved his practice to Rifle and at that time was appointed special associate county court judge, a position which he has held since. In written comments Carter was rated especially high as a hard worker who is courteous in court and makes well-reasoned decisions, free from bias and prejudgment. Although there was criticism from the few individuals who did not want Carter retained, the commission members spoke with Carter about the criticisms and were satisfied with his responses. Questioned about the potential conflict of interest in connection with his representation of the city of Rifle, Carter said a Colorado Supreme Court justice had advised him there was no conflict. Additionally, he informs litigants of the potential conflict prior to trial and allows them to choose another judge if they desire.

Surveys & reports

  • 2002 cycle
    • 2002 Retention Survey Report(PDF on OJPE)
      Read full retention survey textexpand
      ## Page 1 March 6, 2002 The Honorable Stephen L. Carter Rifle County Courthouse 110 E. 18th Street Rifle, CO 81650 Dear Judge Carter: Every two years the Colorado Judicial Performance Commission conducts a survey of people who have been in the courtroom of judges who face a retention vote in the next general election. The 2002 survey was conducted by Talmey-Drake Research & Strategy, Inc., who attempted to contact over 55,000 people who had been in these courtrooms in one capacity or another. Over 18,000 people responded—3,686 to the attorney survey and 14,925 to the non-attorney survey. This report contains the results of those who were in your courtroom and who responded to the survey. In addition to this introduction, the report is divided into four main sections: • Results: This section contains the average and percentage distribution of responses to each substantive numerical question in the survey. It is divided into two subsections, one for the results of the attorney survey and one for the results of the non-attorney survey. • Comments: Respondents were also asked to comment about each judge on each section of the questionnaire: courtesy, impartiality, communications skills, judicial temperament, diligence, application of the law, retention and general comments. These comments have been transcribed, and in some instances redacted to eliminate respondent identifying information. Again this section has been divided into two subsections, one for attorney comments and one for non-attorney comments. • Methodology: The fourth section of the report discusses the methodology of the survey. • Questionnaires: And the final section provides copies of the questionnaires that were used. 100 Arap ahoe, Suite One, Boulder, CO 80302 Phone 303.443.5300 Fax 303.447.9386 ## Page 2 March 6, 2002 The Honorable Stephen L. Carter Page 2 If you have any questions about the methodology and how the survey was conducted, please feel free to contact me at 303-443-5300, and for any other questions you might have about the survey please call the Director of the Colorado Judicial Performance Program, Michelle Stermer, at 303-837-3665. Best regards, Paul A. Talmey President enc: ## Page 3 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 1a. How would you grade Judge Carter on being courteous toward parties or witnesses? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 48% 64% 65% B 14% 22% 21% C 14% 7% 7% D 14% 3% 3% Fail 5% 2% 2% No Grade 5% 2% 3% Average Grade 2.9 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B- B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 1 ## Page 4 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 1b. How would you grade Judge Carter on being courteous toward attorneys? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 52% 64% 61% B 29% 20% 22% C 19% 7% 8% D 4% 4% Fail 3% 3% No Grade 2% 3% Average Grade 3.3 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 2 ## Page 5 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 1c. How would you grade Judge Carter on being courteous toward pro se parties? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 43% 55% 48% B 24% 17% 14% C 19% 8% 6% D 14% 2% 2% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 16% 29% Average Grade 3.0 3.4 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 3 ## Page 6 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 2a. How would you grade Judge Carter on treating parties equally regardless of race? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 48% 67% 63% B 24% 15% 12% C 14% 4% 3% D 10% 1% 1% Fail 1% 1% No Grade 5% 12% 19% Average Grade 3.2 3.7 3.7 Letter Grade B A- A- Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 4 ## Page 7 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 2b. How would you grade Judge Carter on treating parties equally regardless of gender? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 43% 69% 66% B 29% 16% 14% C 10% 5% 5% D 10% 2% 2% Fail 1% 2% No Grade 10% 8% 12% Average Grade 3.2 3.6 3.6 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 5 ## Page 8 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 2c. How would you grade Judge Carter on treating parties equally regardless of age? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 43% 70% 66% B 24% 14% 13% C 19% 5% 4% D 1% 1% Fail 1% No Grade 14% 10% 15% Average Grade 3.3 3.7 3.7 Letter Grade B A- A- Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 6 ## Page 9 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 2d. How would you grade Judge Carter on treating parties equally regardless of social/economic status? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 43% 66% 65% B 29% 15% 13% C 5% 6% 5% D 19% 3% 2% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 5% 10% 13% Average Grade 3.0 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 7 ## Page 10 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 2e. How would you grade Judge Carter on being fair and impartial toward both sides? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 48% 60% 60% B 19% 18% 17% C 14% 9% 8% D 19% 6% 5% Fail 3% 4% No Grade 4% 5% Average Grade 3.0 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 8 ## Page 11 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 2f. How would you grade Judge Carter on treating pro se parties fairly? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 43% 58% 51% B 33% 14% 11% C 10% 6% 4% D 10% 2% 1% Fail 2% 1% No Grade 5% 19% 31% Average Grade 3.2 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 9 ## Page 12 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 2g. How would you grade Judge Carter on not engaging in ex parte communications? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 38% 56% 59% B 24% 15% 12% C 14% 6% 4% D 5% 2% 1% Fail 3% 2% No Grade 19% 18% 21% Average Grade 3.2 3.4 3.6 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 10 ## Page 13 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 3a. How would you grade Judge Carter on providing written communications that are clear, thorough, and well reasoned? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 33% 29% 37% B 19% 22% 23% C 19% 8% 9% D 3% 2% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 29% 37% 27% Average Grade 3.2 3.2 3.2 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 11 ## Page 14 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 3b. How would you grade Judge Carter on communicating verbally in a clear, thorough, and well reasoned manner? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 48% 51% 54% B 29% 30% 28% C 14% 10% 9% D 10% 4% 4% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 3% 3% Average Grade 3.1 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 12 ## Page 15 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 3c. How would you grade Judge Carter on explaining court procedures clearly and thoroughly? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 43% 53% 54% B 33% 27% 26% C 10% 10% 9% D 14% 3% 3% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 6% 7% Average Grade 3.0 3.3 3.4 Letter Grade B B B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 13 ## Page 16 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 4a. How would you grade Judge Carter on maintaining a professional demeanor in the courtroom? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 38% 62% 64% B 19% 21% 21% C 29% 7% 7% D 14% 5% 4% Fail 2% 3% No Grade 2% 3% Average Grade 2.8 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B- B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 14 ## Page 17 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 4b. How would you grade Judge Carter on listening patiently to all testimony and arguments before issuing a ruling? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 33% 57% 57% B 24% 22% 22% C 24% 9% 8% D 14% 5% 5% Fail 3% 4% No Grade 5% 3% 4% Average Grade 2.8 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade B- B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 15 ## Page 18 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 5a. How would you grade Judge Carter on managing cases and docket efficiently and with minimal delay? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 43% 47% 46% B 48% 27% 27% C 5% 11% 11% D 5% 4% 4% Fail 3% 4% No Grade 8% 8% Average Grade 3.3 3.2 3.2 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 16 ## Page 19 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 5b. How would you grade Judge Carter on being punctual in commencing proceedings? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 62% 51% 54% B 33% 27% 28% C 5% 11% 9% D 3% 2% Fail 3% 2% No Grade 4% 4% Average Grade 3.6 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade B+ B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 17 ## Page 20 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 5c. How would you grade Judge Carter on using court time efficiently? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 57% 53% 54% B 33% 24% 25% C 5% 11% 10% D 4% 3% Fail 3% 3% No Grade 5% 5% 5% Average Grade 3.6 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade B+ B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 18 ## Page 21 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 5d. How would you grade Judge Carter on being prepared for all court matters? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 57% 56% 58% B 33% 25% 23% C 10% 8% 7% D 3% 3% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 7% 7% Average Grade 3.5 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 19 ## Page 22 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 5e. How would you grade Judge Carter on being willing to handle cases on the docket even when they are complicated and time Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 33% 48% 49% B 24% 18% 18% C 14% 7% 7% D 10% 3% 3% Fail 3% 3% No Grade 19% 21% 21% Average Grade 3.0 3.3 3.4 Letter Grade B B B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 20 ## Page 23 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 5f. How would you grade Judge Carter on providing quick access to the court in emergency matters? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 33% 35% 33% B 24% 14% 13% C 5% 5% 5% D 2% 2% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 38% 43% 45% Average Grade 3.5 3.4 3.3 Letter Grade B+ B+ B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 21 ## Page 24 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 6a. How would you grade Judge Carter on having knowledge of the rules of evidence and procedure? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 29% 47% 53% B 24% 28% 25% C 29% 12% 9% D 10% 4% 3% Fail 3% 2% No Grade 10% 7% 7% Average Grade 2.8 3.2 3.3 Letter Grade B- B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 22 ## Page 25 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 6b. How would you grade Judge Carter on ruling on motions in a timely matter? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 57% 48% 49% B 24% 24% 25% C 10% 8% 8% D 3% 3% Fail 2% 3% No Grade 10% 16% 13% Average Grade 3.5 3.4 3.3 Letter Grade B+ B+ B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 23 ## Page 26 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 6c. How would you grade Judge Carter on making the correct decision based upon the law and the facts? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 24% 40% 44% B 38% 30% 29% C 14% 13% 12% D 10% 6% 5% Fail 5% 4% 4% No Grade 10% 6% 6% Average Grade 2.7 3.0 3.1 Letter Grade B- B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 24 ## Page 27 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 6d. How would you grade Judge Carter on making decisions without regard to possible criticism? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 43% 49% 50% B 29% 21% 20% C 10% 9% 8% D 5% 4% 3% Fail 5% 4% 3% No Grade 10% 14% 15% Average Grade 3.1 3.2 3.3 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 25 ## Page 28 Judge Stephen L. Carter Attorney Survey 7. Do you recommend that Judge Carter be retained in office or not be retained in office? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 Retain in office 86% 83% 84% Do not retain in office 14% 11% 11% No opinion 6% 5% Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 26 ## Page 29 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 1a. How would you grade Judge Carter on being courteous toward everyone in the courtroom? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 58% 65% 67% B 25% 20% 19% C 11% 7% 6% D 1% 2% 2% Fail 2% 3% 2% No Grade 3% 4% 4% Average Grade 3.4 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 1 ## Page 30 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 1b. How would you grade Judge Carter on being courteous toward persons representing themselves? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 46% 49% 47% B 19% 16% 15% C 9% 6% 5% D 2% 2% 2% Fail 3% 3% 2% No Grade 21% 24% 30% Average Grade 3.3 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 2 ## Page 31 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 2a. How would you grade Judge Carter on treating parties equally regardless of race? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 54% 63% 65% B 19% 15% 14% C 5% 4% 4% D 1% 1% 1% Fail 2% 2% 2% No Grade 19% 15% 14% Average Grade 3.5 3.6 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 3 ## Page 32 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 2b. How would you grade Judge Carter on treating parties equally regardless of gender? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 59% 65% 67% B 18% 16% 16% C 8% 5% 5% D 1% 2% 2% Fail 2% 2% 2% No Grade 11% 9% 9% Average Grade 3.5 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 4 ## Page 33 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 2c. How would you grade Judge Carter on treating parties equally regardless of age? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 58% 64% 67% B 21% 16% 16% C 6% 6% 5% D 2% 2% 1% Fail 2% 2% 2% No Grade 10% 10% 10% Average Grade 3.5 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 5 ## Page 34 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 2d. How would you grade Judge Carter on treating parties equally regardless of social/economic status? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 58% 64% 66% B 20% 16% 15% C 6% 5% 5% D 2% 2% 2% Fail 5% 3% 3% No Grade 9% 10% 9% Average Grade 3.4 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 6 ## Page 35 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 2e. How would you grade Judge Carter on being fair and impartial toward both sides? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 60% 63% 65% B 19% 16% 16% C 8% 6% 5% D 2% 3% 2% Fail 6% 4% 4% No Grade 5% 8% 7% Average Grade 3.3 3.4 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 7 ## Page 36 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 2f. How would you grade Judge Carter on treating parties without attorneys fairly? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 42% 45% 43% B 15% 13% 12% C 7% 5% 4% D 2% 2% 2% Fail 3% 4% 3% No Grade 31% 31% 37% Average Grade 3.3 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 8 ## Page 37 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 2g. How would you grade Judge Carter on giving each side enough time to present his or her case? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 58% 60% 63% B 20% 16% 16% C 9% 5% 5% D 2% 2% 2% Fail 3% 3% 3% No Grade 7% 14% 11% Average Grade 3.4 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 9 ## Page 38 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 3a. How would you grade Judge Carter on speaking in a way that is clearly understood? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 60% 68% 70% B 28% 20% 19% C 7% 6% 6% D 2% 2% 2% Fail 2% 2% 1% No Grade 1% 2% 2% Average Grade 3.4 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 10 ## Page 39 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 3b. How would you grade Judge Carter on explaining court procedures clearly and thoroughly? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 62% 67% 69% B 23% 19% 18% C 7% 6% 6% D 2% 2% 2% Fail 2% 2% 2% No Grade 3% 4% 4% Average Grade 3.5 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 11 ## Page 40 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 4a. How would you grade Judge Carter on maintaining a professional demeanor in the courtroom? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 61% 69% 72% B 21% 17% 16% C 10% 6% 5% D 2% 2% Fail 4% 3% 2% No Grade 2% 3% 3% Average Grade 3.4 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 12 ## Page 41 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 4b. How would you grade Judge Carter on listening patiently to all testimony and arguments before issuing a ruling? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 59% 64% 66% B 22% 18% 17% C 8% 6% 5% D 2% 3% 2% Fail 4% 4% 3% No Grade 5% 6% 6% Average Grade 3.3 3.4 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 13 ## Page 42 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 5a. How would you grade Judge Carter on managing cases efficiently and with minimal delay? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 50% 55% 56% B 26% 23% 22% C 11% 9% 8% D 3% 2% 3% Fail 1% 3% 2% No Grade 8% 9% 9% Average Grade 3.3 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 14 ## Page 43 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 5b. How would you grade Judge Carter on starting court on time? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 56% 55% 57% B 29% 23% 23% C 11% 9% 9% D 1% 3% 3% Fail 3% 2% No Grade 2% 6% 6% Average Grade 3.4 3.3 3.4 Letter Grade B+ B B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 15 ## Page 44 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 5c. How would you grade Judge Carter on being prepared for cases? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 60% 61% 64% B 24% 19% 18% C 7% 7% 6% D 1% 2% 2% Fail 2% 2% 2% No Grade 6% 9% 9% Average Grade 3.5 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 16 ## Page 45 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 6a. How would you grade Judge Carter on considering all information presented when making a decision? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 58% 60% 62% B 18% 17% 16% C 10% 6% 5% D 3% 3% 2% Fail 4% 4% 4% No Grade 7% 10% 11% Average Grade 3.3 3.4 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 17 ## Page 46 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 6b. How would you grade Judge Carter on having knowledge of the rules of evidence, procedure and the law? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 63% 64% 67% B 20% 17% 16% C 6% 5% 5% D 2% 2% 2% Fail 2% 2% 2% No Grade 6% 10% 10% Average Grade 3.5 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 18 ## Page 47 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 6c. How would you grade Judge Carter on deciding important matters in a timely way? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 59% 60% 62% B 23% 19% 18% C 8% 6% 6% D 1% 2% 2% Fail 3% 2% 2% No Grade 6% 11% 10% Average Grade 3.4 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 19 ## Page 48 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 6d. How would you grade Judge Carter on making decisions without regard to public criticism? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 54% 53% 55% B 19% 15% 14% C 6% 5% 5% D 2% 2% 2% Fail 4% 3% 3% No Grade 16% 21% 22% Average Grade 3.4 3.4 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 20 ## Page 49 Judge Stephen L. Carter Non-Attorney Survey 7. Do you recommend that Judge Carter be retained in office or not be retained in office? Judge All County All Trial Carter Judges 2002 Judges 2002 Retain in office 82% 81% 83% Do not retain in office 10% 9% 8% No opinion 8% 11% 9% Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9 Page 21 ## Page 50 MMeetthhooddoollooggyy Sample: The Colorado Judicial Department provided Talmey-Drake Research & Strategy, Inc. with a list of cases heard and closed during the two years prior to the summer of 2001 by the 115 justices and judges standing for retention in November 2002. From this list of cases, Talmey-Drake Research drew a sample of the 250 cases most recently closed for each judge or justice. In some instances where there were an insufficient number of cases (or participants in cases), the time period during which cases could be drawn was lengthened. For each case selected a list of people associated with the case who had likely appeared in the judge’s courtroom were drawn from the Judicial Department’s database, ICON, and the Colorado District Attorney’s database (Blackstone system). The cases and the associated case participants were divided up among the 22 judicial districts and put on CD ROM. These CD’s were distributed to the judicial districts, and district personnel added the names of people who were associated with a case, but whose names and addresses had not been captured electronically. The data from the judicial districts were then returned to Talmey-Drake Research where the data was combined and cleaned. Included in the data cleaning was the identification of potential respondents in the sample who had appeared in more than two judges’ courtrooms. Due to concerns about respondent fatigue, no more than two questionnaires were intended to be sent to any one respondent—though there were a few instances where one respondent did receive more than two questionnaires. Where a person had been in more than two judges’ courtrooms, the selection criteria for which judges he or she would be sent questionnaires was: first, for the judge in whose courtroom the potential respondent had been in most often, and two, the judge with the smallest sample of the judges in whose courtroom the potential respondent had been in. Added to this database were a database of jurors and one of court employees. Survey: In November 2002, each person in the database was mailed a postcard saying they would receive a questionnaire concerning judicial performance and that it was important for them to fill it out and return it. Shortly thereafter, they were sent an initial questionnaire and an introductory letter with a postage- paid return envelope. Those who did not respond to the first questionnaire were then sent a sent a second questionnaire and letter. Non-respondents to the second survey were sent a reminder postcard. At this point, non- responders who had been sent questionnaires about judges who had not yet achieved a target cooperation rate of 40% were sent a third letter and questionnaire—and a follow up postcard. During this process, the sample was augmented for judges with a particularly low number of completed questionnaires. 1 ## Page 51 Questionnaire:The questionnaire used in the 2002 Judicial Performance Survey is identical to the questionnaire used for the 2000 survey. Respondents were asked to use a grade of A, B, C, D, or F (Fail) to assess the justice’s or judge’s performance in the areas of Courtesy, Impartiality, Communication, Judicial Temperament, Diligence and Application of the Law. These scores were then converted to a numerical value where A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1 and Fail = 0. Response: The response rate is calculated as the number of completed questionnaires divided by the number of eligible respondents who actually received a questionnaire. The following table shows the total number of questionnaires mailed, completed, non-responses & refusals, undeliverables and other responses. The table presents the overall response rate as well as the response rate by the different types of respondents. Refused/ Nonre- Unde- Response Attorney Respondents Total Sent Completed sponse livered Other Rate District Attorney 852 511 227 42 72 69.2% Attorney For Defendant 3,277 1,921 809 223 324 70.4% Attorney for Plaintiff 1,711 1,001 428 92 190 70.0% Guardian ad Litem 85 47 22 9 7 68.1% Unknown Attorney Type 460 206 112 102 40 64.8% Attorney Total 6,385 3,686 1,598 468 633 69.8% Refused/ Nonre- Unde- Response Non-Attny Respondents Total Sent Completed sponse livered Other Rate Law Enforcement 6,918 2,517 2,648 577 1,176 48.7% Social Services Casewrkr 117 61 36 15 5 62.9% Employee 1,946 1,142 526 105 173 68.5% Defendant 15,701 2,467 7,511 5,109 614 24.7% Plaintiff 3,276 943 1,538 553 242 38.0% Juror 12,910 6,565 4,443 776 1,126 59.6% Victim 3,158 414 1,601 788 355 20.5% Other 4,611 816 2,288 951 556 26.3% Non-attorney Total 48,637 14,925 20,591 8,874 4,247 42.0% Total 55,022 18,611 22,189 9,342 4,880 45.6% A similar table showing the response count and cooperation rate for your survey is provided at the end of this methodology section. 2 ## Page 52 Results: The results of the Survey are in two main sections: Results and Comments. Within each main section are two subsections, one for each general type of respondent, attorney or non-attorney. Results: This section shows the percentage distribution of grades you received on each of the substantive questions plus the retain/do not retain question. An average grade point for each graded question is computed and shown in the results section. A letter grade is also assigned to each grade point according to the following scale. A = 4.00 B = 3.00 to 3.33 C = 2.00 to 2.33 D = 1.00 to 1.33 A— = 3.68 to 3.99 B— = 2.67 to 2.99 C— = 1.67 to 1.99 D— = 0.67 to 0.99 B+ = 3.34 to 3.66 C+ = 2.34 to 2.66 D+ = 1.34 to 1.66 Fail = 0.00 to 0.67 This section also includes two comparative columns of results: one comparative column shows the results for that question for all county or district judges (as appropriate) surveyed in 2002, along with a second comparative column showing the results for all trial judges in the 2002 survey. Comments: Each respondent was encouraged to comment on the judge’s performance in the six areas of Courtesy, Impartiality, Communication, Judicial temperament, Diligence, Application of the law as well as the judge’s Overall performance. This section contains these comments—again divided between results from attorneys and non-attorneys. Sampling All sample surveys are subject to what is known as sampling error—the Error: extent to which the results of the sample survey may differ from what would be obtained if the entire population being surveyed had been interviewed. The size of the sampling error is almost entirely due to the number of people interviewed for the survey and the variance of responses. The table below shows the extent of sampling error (95%-confidence interval) for various sizes of random samples and sample percentage results. Sample Size 25 50 100 150 200 300 Percentages near 10% or 90% ± 11.8% ± 8.3% ± 5.9% ± 4.8% ± 4.2% ± 3.4% Percentages near 20% or 80% ± 15.7% ± 11.1% ± 7.8% ± 6.4% ± 5.5% ± 4.5% Percentages near 30% or 70% ± 18.0% ± 12.7% ± 9.0% ± 7.3% ± 6.4% ± 5.2% Percentages near 40% or 60% ± 19.2% ± 13.6% ± 9.6% ± 7.8% ± 6.8% ± 5.5% Percentages near 50% ± 19.6% ± 13.9% ± 9.8% ± 8.0% ± 6.9% ± 5.7% For example, suppose a reported percentage is 80% in a sample size of 150, then one could expect that 95% of the time that a random sample of the same size and collected the same way would include the true population percentage within the range of 80% plus or minus 6.4%. Averages such as grade points also have a 95% confidence interval, however it is not so easily displayed in a table as confidence intervals about a percentage. Suffice it to say that the confidence interval about a score generally increases with smaller sample size. 3 ## Page 53 Judge Stephen L. Carter Survey Disposition Report Total Refusals & Undeliv- Other Response Sent Completes Nonresponse erables Response Rate District Attorney 6 5 1 100.0% Attorney For Defendant 22 14 6 1 1 70.0% Attorney for Plaintiff 3 2 1 66.7% Guardian ad Litem Unknown Attorney Type Sub Total: 31 21 7 1 2 75.0% Law Enforcement 99 52 28 10 9 65.0% Social Services Caseworker 1 1 Employee 18 17 1 94.4% Defendant 149 19 76 52 2 20.0% Plaintiff 31 10 13 5 3 43.5% Juror 242 91 97 10 44 48.4% Victim 38 4 22 6 6 15.4% Other 32 13 17 2 43.3% Sub Total: 610 206 255 85 64 44.7% Total: 641 227 262 86 66 46.4% 1. 'Other Response' predominately includes people who sent back a survey saying they did not appear in the courtroom, and people who are deceased, or otherwise incapable of responding, and people who could not recall the experience. 2. The Response Rate is calculated using the following formula: Completes (Total Sent - Undeliverables - Other Responses) Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 9

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