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J. Chris Larson

Trial Court · Boulder · Boulder

Meets Standards1 cycle on record

Evaluation history

  • 2026 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Boulder · Boulder
    Commission vote: 10 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 Twentieth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance, by a vote of 10-0, finds that Judge J. Chris Larson MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. Since Judge Larson’s appointment in 2024, he has presided primarily over civil cases. The Commission found Judge Larson to be hardworking, diligent, and thoughtful in his courtroom preparation and decision-making. He has implemented case-management practices designed to reduce delay and litigant expense, including providing oral rulings from the bench. He is committed to both substantive and procedural fairness and makes meaningful efforts to ensure that pro se parties understand the proceedings and have an opportunity to participate. Judge Larson’s demeanor and temperament further convey to litigants his commitment to fairness. The Commission on Judicial Performance evaluates judges on six standards: legal knowledge, communication, integrity, judicial temperament and service to the legal profession.  To evaluate Judge Larson’s performance, the Commission observed him in court, reviewed opinions he authored, considered his self-evaluation, held a public hearing to invite comments, and reviewed responses to a survey distributed to all persons who have appeared in his court.  The Commission also conducted personal interviews with Judge Larson, the District Attorney, the Chief Judge and representatives of the Boulder Defense Bar. Judge Larson was appointed as a District Judge in May 2024. Prior to judicial service, Judge Larson was an attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice for more than twenty years where he served in leadership roles in Washington, D.C. and Colorado. Before joining the Department of Justice, Judge Larson was a law clerk for a federal District Court Judge. He received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and undergraduate and master’s degrees from Syracuse University.  While at Syracuse, he attended the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.  He has participated in a variety of educational programs serving students from high school through law school, and he has worked to support expanded educational opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities.  Recently, he began serving as the 20th Judicial District’s ex-officio representative to the Boulder County Bar Association.

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