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William Culver

Trial Court · Otero · Otero

Meets Standards1 cycle on record

Evaluation history

  • 2026 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Otero · Otero
    Commission vote: 8 for · 0 against
    Meets Standards
    VotersOn the November 3, 2026 ballot· Coloradans vote on this judge’s retention on November 3, 2026; the outcome will appear here after the election.
    Retention Year: 2026Recommendation: Meets Performance Standards Reports: 2026 Retention Survey Report (PDF) 2025 Interim Survey Report (PDF) The Sixteenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance agrees by a vote of 8-0, with one commissioner abstaining and one commission vacancy, that Judge William Culver MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. Judge Culver presides over civil, criminal advisements, misdemeanors, traffic, and small claims matters in Otero County, Colorado. Judge Culver’s demeanor is described as, patient, fair, and understanding of people in the court room. Judge Culver has excellent docket control, consistently prepared for his hearings and executes exceptional oral and written orders. Commission members observed these qualities during their evaluation and interview. Based on these findings, the Commission agreed that Judge Culver meets performance standards. The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Culver, interviewed both the Public Defender and District Attorney, reviewed opinions he authored, observed him in court, reviewed a self-evaluation, and reviewed judicial performance survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys who had appeared before him. Although only 17 surveys were completed for Judge Culver, the Commission determined that the remaining sources provided a sufficient basis to issue this opinion. Judge Culver has been appointed to the County Court since 2024. Before becoming a County Court Judge, Judge Culver was the elected district attorney for the 16th Judicial District. Prior to 2012, Judge Culver was a solo practitioner and focused on complex divorce proceedings and criminal defense. Judge Culver also litigated dependency and neglect cases, juvenile delinquency cases, civil cases and provided consultation in probate matters. Judge Culver graduated from Emory University School of Law in 1995 with a juris doctorate and Fort Hays State University in 1992 with a BA. Judge Culver is a member of the Colorado Bar, the Bar of the United States District Court for Colorado and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Surveys & reports

  • 2026 cycle
    • 2025 Interim Survey Report(PDF on OJPE)
      Structured scores pending

      Full numeric extraction isn’t complete for this cycle’s layout yet. Open the source PDF above for the underlying data.

    • 2026 Retention Survey Report(PDF on OJPE)
      Structured scores pending

      Full numeric extraction isn’t complete for this cycle’s layout yet. Open the source PDF above for the underlying data.

Score cards render where the PDF extractor found numeric fields (partial is shown with “—” for missing tiles). “Read full survey text” surfaces the complete report transcription for every survey on file. Source PDFs on OJPE are always linked above for fidelity. Coverage note on Sources.

Sources