Jonathan W. Hays
Trial Court · Weld · Weld
Meets Standards(Retain)2 cycles on record
Evaluation history
- 1996 retention cycleTrial Court · Weld · WeldMeets Standards(Retain)VotersRetained· 70.7% yes31,630 yes · 13,123 no50% needed to retainRetention Year: 1996 Recommendation: Retain All surveyed groups recommended retention, and based on the written evaluations and a personal interview, the 19th Judicial Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Jonathan W. Hays BE RETAINED. Judge Jonathan Hays has been a Weld County District Court Judge for over twenty years. His current docket includes approximately 40% of water law cases and 60% criminal cases. Based on a review of written evaluations by court personnel, attorneys, jurors, and law enforcement, Judge Hays is considered to be a fair and knowledgeable judge who maintains courtroom control, makes clear decisions, is courteous and displays compassion.
- 1990 retention cycleTrial Court · Weld · WeldMeets Standards(Retain)VotersRetained· 68.7% yes20,454 yes · 9,313 no50% needed to retainRetention Year: 1990 Recommendation: Retain Judicial Performance Commission’s recommendation: Should Be Retained. Judge Hays was admitted to the bar in 1968 after graduating from the University of Colorado Law School. He served as a deputy public defender ad a deputy district attorney prior to his appointment as a Weld County judge in August 1973. He was appointed as district court judge in Weld County in August 1975 and has served in that capacity until the present time. Judge Hays hears primarily civil matters, including domestic relations, mental health filings and juvenile matters which have been transferred to district court from the juvenile commissioner. In previous years he also handled criminal matters. Judge Hays is a member of the American Judicature Society and the Weld County and Colorado bar associations. He has served as a member of the Weld County Community Corrections Board, and is chairman of the Intensive Supervision Program Board and is a member of various task forces dealing with jail overcrowding, domestic violence, mental health and juvenile justice issues. The majority of all the surveyed groups highly recommended retention for Judge Hays. There were numerous comments to the survey stating Judge Hays is an excellent judge who is competent, well prepared, fair minded and has a good judicial temperament.
Surveys & reports
No survey reports on record for this judge.
Sources
- 1996 evaluation on OJPE · scraped Apr 17, 2026
- 1990 evaluation on OJPE · scraped Apr 17, 2026