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Stanley J. Mayhew

Trial Court · Park · Park

Meets Standards(Do Not Retain)3 cycles on record

Evaluation history

  • 1998 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Park · Park
    Meets Standards(Do Not Retain)
    Retention Year: 1998 Recommendation: Retain The Eleventh Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Stanley J. Mayhew BE RETAINED. Judge Mayhew graduated from the University of Colorado law school at Boulder in 1971. He was appointed to the Park County Court Bench in July of 1975. Judge Mayhew is a part-time county court judge and continues to maintain his private law practice in Fairplay. Judge Mayhew currently presides over misdemeanor criminal matters, traffic cases, and civil cases. Questionnaires for evaluation of Judge Mayhew were sent to numerous people, including attorneys who have appeared in his court, court and probation employees, litigants who have had cases in his court, law enforcement personnel and jurors who have served on juries in his court. The responses to the questionnaires rated Judge Mayhew highly overall. It should be noted that the data from those groups with only one response may be subject to instability because of the low response rate. Those persons who responded to the questionnaires made the following recommendations concerning retention of Judge Mayhew: Attorneys (11 responses) Retain: 81.8% - Do Not Retain: 18.2%, Court employees (4 responses) Retain: 75% - Do Not Retain 25%, Litigants (1 response) Retain: 100%, Law Enforcement Personnel (16 responses) Retain: 61.5% - Do Not Retain: 38.5%, Crime Victims (1 response) Retain: 100% and Jurors (11 responses) Retain: 90% - Do Not Retain 10%. The Commission bases its findings upon information supplied to the commission through the questionnaires, public hearings, and a personal interview with Judge Mayhew. The Commission finds that Judge Mayhew presides over a very heavy docket. The caseload in his court has almost tripled over the past four years and Judge Mayhew has kept pace with the increase in case filings. He has also made strides toward clearing up the backlog in cases. Judge Mayhew is dedicated to his judgeship, and the work involved. He has indicated that he intends to forfeit his private practice of law to enable him to devote more time to his judicial duties. He is hard working, committed, patient and thorough. Judge Mayhew has 23 years of experience on the bench and understands and respects all aspects of his judicial responsibilities. The primary concern of the Commission is docket control and courtroom control, both of which have been issues in past evaluations. The Commission recognizes that Judge Mayhew demonstrated considerable improvement in this area in 1994. The information gathered by the Commission indicates that weakness still exists still exists in this area. The Commission recognizes that several significant factors, beyond the judge's control, contribute to this problem. The increased caseload and under staffing of courtroom personnel (Judge Mayhew has not been provided a bailiff) are definitely factors that contribute to courtroom congestion. However, the Commission also finds that Judge Mayhew must devote more time to the county court judgeship, delegate more tasks to staff, and exercise more control over the activities in the courtroom. Judge Mayhew's indication that he plans to leave private practice of law to enable him to devote additional time to the court is a statement of his intention to work on these weak areas. The Commission is hopeful that positive, constructive improvements will occur in the Park County Court. The decision of the Commission to recommend retention of Judge Mayhew is largely based upon the expressed intention of Judge Mayhew to abandon his private law practice and devote more time to his judicial duties.
  • 1994 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Park · Park
    Meets Standards(Retain)
    Retention Year: 1994 Recommendation: Retain Judge Mayhew graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1971. He was appointed to the county court bench in July, 1975. Judge Mayhew is a part-time county court judge and continues to maintain his practice in Fairplay. Judge Mayhew presides over all matters with the county court jurisdiction and serves as a referee for juvenile matters. The Park County Court is a 60% court which is determined as a result of the number of cases which are concluded over a period of one year in the county court. Based upon the evaluations of those polled, including attorneys, courthouse personnel, and law enforcement personnel, it is readily apparent that Judge Mayhew has made substantial improvement over the last two years in the areas of docket control and punctuality. Judge Mayhew faces the difficult task of a caseload that is rapidly increasing, which has occurred in the past several years in Park County. The county court appears to be understaffed, making Judge Mayhew’s job more difficult than what should be required of the Park County Judge. Although the court is a “60%” court, the caseload is approximately 70% of a full-time court. The commission found Judge Mayhew to be a thoughtful, fair, and compassionate judge. He displays a thorough knowledge of the law, treats parties equally, and demonstrates a balanced sense of justice. The Eleventh Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Stanley J. Mayhew BE RETAINED.
  • 1990 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Park · Park
    No Opinion
    Retention Year: 1990 Recommendation: No Opinion Judicial Performance Commission’s recommendation: No Opinion Judge Mayhew is a County Court Judge appointed to his position in 1975. He was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 1971, and served as a law clerk for a justice on the Colorado Court of Appeals. He established a private practice in Fairplay in November 1971 which he has maintained to the present date. Additionally, he operated South Park Title Co. from 1984 to 1986. Mayhew presides over traffic and misdemeanor criminal cases, including drunken driving cases in Park County. He also conducts preliminary hearings in felony cases. He occasionally hears juvenile matters as a juvenile referee within Park County. Mayhew’s court is a part-time rather than a full-time court based upon the population and needs of the county and therefore he operates a private practice separate from his duties on the county court bench. The surveyed groups rated Mayhew favorably on questions dealing with conducting court free from impropriety, making decisions without public influence, providing equal treatment without regard to race, sex, expressed substantially above average ratings with regard to displaying a sense of justice and avoiding prejudging of cases. Mayhew is generally viewed as being courteous and free from arbitrary decision making. The commission noted the surveyed groups expressed some concern with Mayhew not proceeding with matters in a punctual manner. The judge has taken recent steps to place the function of his court on a more punctual basis. The negative results of the process when compared with the positive attributes of the judge have caused the commission to be unable to recommend retention. The positive attributes of the judge also do not case the commission to recommend against retention.

Surveys & reports

No survey reports on record for this judge.

Sources