Betty Raye Nickell

Evaluation history

• 2002 retention cycle

  Trial Court · Montrose · Montrose

  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 Seventh Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Bette Raye Nickell BE RETAINED. The position of Montrose County Associate Court Judge is part-time and the court serves the west-end of Montrose County. Judge Nickell is a lay judge (non-attorney). She is a graduate of Arizona State University and holds a Masters degree from Western State College. She had a career in education and retired as a superintendent of schools before being appointed to the bench in December of 1999. Judge Nickell’s workload consists of traffic cases, a small number of criminal proceedings, including felony preliminary hearings and civil actions. Judge Nickell, aside from her work on the bench, also serves on the boards for the Uncompahgre Clinic and the Wright Stuff Foundation and speaks to students in the schools of both Nucla and Norwood. Judge Nickell believes that she listens carefully and does not prejudge. She has strong people skills and goes out of her way to make sure everyone has been heard. She has great respect for the judicial system and believes that others will share her respect if they respect her as a judge. She is willing to learn and is not afraid to ask for advice from other judges. She considers her lack of experience and legal background as her weaknesses. Judge Nickell’s goals for the next year are to attend as many conferences and workshops as possible to gain additional legal knowledge, continue working with local agencies to develop the resources that are needed for the local area and spend more time reading legal materials. She describes her learning curve of being a new lay judge as "straight up." The Commission believes she has the proper judicial temperament and the willingness and ability to overcome any obstacles presented by her lack of prior formal legal training. The Commission conducted public hearings, interviews with attorneys and non-attorneys, a personal interview with the judge and reviewed her self-evaluation. The survey response from local attorneys was too small for credible analysis. Of the non-attorneys, 76% recommended retention. The Commission is pleased with and supportive of Judge Nickell’s performance. The Commission recommends that Montrose County Associate Court Judge Nickell be retained.

Surveys & reports

• 2002 cycle
  • 2002 Retention Survey Report(PDF on OJPE)
    Read full retention survey textexpandcollapse

    ## Page 1 March 4, 2002 The Honorable Bette Raye Nickell Nucla County Courthouse P.O. Box 78, 300 Main Nucla, CO 81424 Dear Judge Nickell: 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 4, 2002 The Honorable Bette Raye Nickell 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 Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 1a. How would you grade Judge Nickell on being courteous toward parties or witnesses? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 20% 64% 65% B 80% 22% 21% C 7% 7% D 3% 3% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 2% 3% Average Grade 3.2 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 1 ## Page 4 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 1b. How would you grade Judge Nickell on being courteous toward attorneys? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 40% 64% 61% B 60% 20% 22% C 7% 8% D 4% 4% Fail 3% 3% No Grade 2% 3% Average Grade 3.4 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 2 ## Page 5 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 1c. How would you grade Judge Nickell on being courteous toward pro se parties? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 20% 55% 48% B 40% 17% 14% C 8% 6% D 2% 2% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 40% 16% 29% Average Grade 3.3 3.4 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 3 ## Page 6 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 2a. How would you grade Judge Nickell on treating parties equally regardless of race? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 20% 67% 63% B 15% 12% C 4% 3% D 1% 1% Fail 1% 1% No Grade 80% 12% 19% Average Grade 4.0 3.7 3.7 Letter Grade A A- A- Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 4 ## Page 7 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 2b. How would you grade Judge Nickell on treating parties equally regardless of gender? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 20% 69% 66% B 20% 16% 14% C 20% 5% 5% D 2% 2% Fail 1% 2% No Grade 40% 8% 12% Average Grade 3.0 3.6 3.6 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 5 ## Page 8 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 2c. How would you grade Judge Nickell on treating parties equally regardless of age? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 20% 70% 66% B 20% 14% 13% C 20% 5% 4% D 1% 1% Fail 1% No Grade 40% 10% 15% Average Grade 3.0 3.7 3.7 Letter Grade B A- A- Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 6 ## Page 9 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 2d. How would you grade Judge Nickell on treating parties equally regardless of social/economic status? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 20% 66% 65% B 20% 15% 13% C 40% 6% 5% D 3% 2% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 20% 10% 13% Average Grade 2.8 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B- B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 7 ## Page 10 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 2e. How would you grade Judge Nickell on being fair and impartial toward both sides? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 20% 60% 60% B 18% 17% C 40% 9% 8% D 20% 6% 5% Fail 20% 3% 4% No Grade 4% 5% Average Grade 1.8 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade C- B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 8 ## Page 11 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 2f. How would you grade Judge Nickell on treating pro se parties fairly? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 58% 51% B 14% 11% C 6% 4% D 20% 2% 1% Fail 2% 1% No Grade 80% 19% 31% Average Grade 1.0 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade D B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 9 ## Page 12 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 2g. How would you grade Judge Nickell on not engaging in ex parte communications? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 56% 59% B 15% 12% C 6% 4% D 40% 2% 1% Fail 20% 3% 2% No Grade 40% 18% 21% Average Grade 0.7 3.4 3.6 Letter Grade D- B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 10 ## Page 13 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 3a. How would you grade Judge Nickell on providing written communications that are clear, thorough, and well reasoned? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 29% 37% B 22% 23% C 40% 8% 9% D 3% 2% Fail 20% 2% 2% No Grade 40% 37% 27% Average Grade 1.3 3.2 3.2 Letter Grade D B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 11 ## Page 14 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 3b. How would you grade Judge Nickell on communicating verbally in a clear, thorough, and well reasoned manner? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 51% 54% B 20% 30% 28% C 60% 10% 9% D 4% 4% Fail 20% 2% 2% No Grade 3% 3% Average Grade 1.8 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade C- B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 12 ## Page 15 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 3c. How would you grade Judge Nickell on explaining court procedures clearly and thoroughly? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 53% 54% B 40% 27% 26% C 10% 9% D 20% 3% 3% Fail 20% 2% 2% No Grade 20% 6% 7% Average Grade 1.8 3.3 3.4 Letter Grade C- B B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 13 ## Page 16 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 4a. How would you grade Judge Nickell on maintaining a professional demeanor in the courtroom? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 40% 62% 64% B 60% 21% 21% C 7% 7% D 5% 4% Fail 2% 3% No Grade 2% 3% Average Grade 3.4 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 14 ## Page 17 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 4b. How would you grade Judge Nickell on listening patiently to all testimony and arguments before issuing a ruling? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 20% 57% 57% B 60% 22% 22% C 20% 9% 8% D 5% 5% Fail 3% 4% No Grade 3% 4% Average Grade 3.0 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 15 ## Page 18 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 5a. How would you grade Judge Nickell on managing cases and docket efficiently and with minimal delay? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 20% 47% 46% B 40% 27% 27% C 20% 11% 11% D 4% 4% Fail 3% 4% No Grade 20% 8% 8% Average Grade 3.0 3.2 3.2 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 16 ## Page 19 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 5b. How would you grade Judge Nickell on being punctual in commencing proceedings? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 20% 51% 54% B 40% 27% 28% C 20% 11% 9% D 3% 2% Fail 3% 2% No Grade 20% 4% 4% Average Grade 3.0 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 17 ## Page 20 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 5c. How would you grade Judge Nickell on using court time efficiently? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 20% 53% 54% B 40% 24% 25% C 20% 11% 10% D 4% 3% Fail 3% 3% No Grade 20% 5% 5% Average Grade 3.0 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 18 ## Page 21 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 5d. How would you grade Judge Nickell on being prepared for all court matters? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 56% 58% B 60% 25% 23% C 20% 8% 7% D 3% 3% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 20% 7% 7% Average Grade 2.8 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B- B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 19 ## Page 22 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 5e. How would you grade Judge Nickell on being willing to handle cases on the docket even when they are complicated and time Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 20% 48% 49% B 20% 18% 18% C 20% 7% 7% D 3% 3% Fail 3% 3% No Grade 40% 21% 21% Average Grade 3.0 3.3 3.4 Letter Grade B B B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 20 ## Page 23 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 5f. How would you grade Judge Nickell on providing quick access to the court in emergency matters? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 35% 33% B 40% 14% 13% C 20% 5% 5% D 2% 2% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 40% 43% 45% Average Grade 2.7 3.4 3.3 Letter Grade B- B+ B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 21 ## Page 24 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 6a. How would you grade Judge Nickell on having knowledge of the rules of evidence and procedure? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 47% 53% B 20% 28% 25% C 20% 12% 9% D 4% 3% Fail 40% 3% 2% No Grade 20% 7% 7% Average Grade 1.3 3.2 3.3 Letter Grade D B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 22 ## Page 25 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 6b. How would you grade Judge Nickell on ruling on motions in a timely matter? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 48% 49% B 20% 24% 25% C 40% 8% 8% D 20% 3% 3% Fail 2% 3% No Grade 20% 16% 13% Average Grade 2.0 3.4 3.3 Letter Grade C B+ B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 23 ## Page 26 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 6c. How would you grade Judge Nickell on making the correct decision based upon the law and the facts? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 40% 44% B 20% 30% 29% C 20% 13% 12% D 6% 5% Fail 40% 4% 4% No Grade 20% 6% 6% Average Grade 1.3 3.0 3.1 Letter Grade D B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 24 ## Page 27 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 6d. How would you grade Judge Nickell on making decisions without regard to possible criticism? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 49% 50% B 40% 21% 20% C 9% 8% D 4% 3% Fail 40% 4% 3% No Grade 20% 14% 15% Average Grade 1.5 3.2 3.3 Letter Grade D+ B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 25 ## Page 28 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Attorney Survey 7. Do you recommend that Judge Nickell be retained in office or not be retained in office? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 Retain in office 60% 83% 84% Do not retain in office 40% 11% 11% No opinion 6% 5% Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 26 ## Page 29 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 1a. How would you grade Judge Nickell on being courteous toward everyone in the courtroom? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 68% 65% 67% B 13% 20% 19% C 8% 7% 6% D 3% 2% 2% Fail 4% 3% 2% No Grade 4% 4% 4% Average Grade 3.5 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 1 ## Page 30 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 1b. How would you grade Judge Nickell on being courteous toward persons representing themselves? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 63% 49% 47% B 18% 16% 15% C 5% 6% 5% D 3% 2% 2% Fail 3% 3% 2% No Grade 8% 24% 30% Average Grade 3.5 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 2 ## Page 31 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 2a. How would you grade Judge Nickell on treating parties equally regardless of race? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 63% 63% 65% B 11% 15% 14% C 4% 4% 4% D 1% 1% 1% Fail 4% 2% 2% No Grade 17% 15% 14% Average Grade 3.5 3.6 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 3 ## Page 32 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 2b. How would you grade Judge Nickell on treating parties equally regardless of gender? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 68% 65% 67% B 11% 16% 16% C 4% 5% 5% D 1% 2% 2% Fail 5% 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 7 Page 4 ## Page 33 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 2c. How would you grade Judge Nickell on treating parties equally regardless of age? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 64% 64% 67% B 8% 16% 16% C 7% 6% 5% D 4% 2% 1% Fail 5% 2% 2% No Grade 12% 10% 10% Average Grade 3.4 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 5 ## Page 34 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 2d. How would you grade Judge Nickell on treating parties equally regardless of social/economic status? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 64% 64% 66% B 11% 16% 15% C 5% 5% 5% D 3% 2% 2% Fail 7% 3% 3% No Grade 11% 10% 9% Average Grade 3.4 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 6 ## Page 35 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 2e. How would you grade Judge Nickell on being fair and impartial toward both sides? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 61% 63% 65% B 13% 16% 16% C 4% 6% 5% D 4% 3% 2% Fail 11% 4% 4% No Grade 8% 8% 7% Average Grade 3.2 3.4 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 7 ## Page 36 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 2f. How would you grade Judge Nickell on treating parties without attorneys fairly? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 54% 45% 43% B 9% 13% 12% C 4% 5% 4% D 8% 2% 2% Fail 5% 4% 3% No Grade 20% 31% 37% Average Grade 3.2 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 8 ## Page 37 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 2g. How would you grade Judge Nickell on giving each side enough time to present his or her case? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 49% 60% 63% B 14% 16% 16% C 9% 5% 5% D 2% 2% Fail 9% 3% 3% No Grade 18% 14% 11% Average Grade 3.1 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 9 ## Page 38 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 3a. How would you grade Judge Nickell on speaking in a way that is clearly understood? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 74% 68% 70% B 18% 20% 19% C 1% 6% 6% D 2% 2% Fail 4% 2% 1% No Grade 3% 2% 2% Average Grade 3.6 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 10 ## Page 39 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 3b. How would you grade Judge Nickell on explaining court procedures clearly and thoroughly? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 64% 67% 69% B 17% 19% 18% C 7% 6% 6% D 2% 2% Fail 7% 2% 2% No Grade 5% 4% 4% Average Grade 3.4 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 11 ## Page 40 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 4a. How would you grade Judge Nickell on maintaining a professional demeanor in the courtroom? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 71% 69% 72% B 16% 17% 16% C 4% 6% 5% D 1% 2% 2% Fail 5% 3% 2% No Grade 3% 3% 3% Average Grade 3.5 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 12 ## Page 41 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 4b. How would you grade Judge Nickell on listening patiently to all testimony and arguments before issuing a ruling? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 63% 64% 66% B 16% 18% 17% C 3% 6% 5% D 5% 3% 2% Fail 8% 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 7 Page 13 ## Page 42 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 5a. How would you grade Judge Nickell on managing cases efficiently and with minimal delay? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 50% 55% 56% B 24% 23% 22% C 12% 9% 8% D 1% 2% 3% Fail 5% 3% 2% No Grade 8% 9% 9% Average Grade 3.2 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 14 ## Page 43 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 5b. How would you grade Judge Nickell on starting court on time? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 55% 55% 57% B 24% 23% 23% C 4% 9% 9% D 3% 3% 3% Fail 7% 3% 2% No Grade 8% 6% 6% Average Grade 3.3 3.3 3.4 Letter Grade B B B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 15 ## Page 44 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 5c. How would you grade Judge Nickell on being prepared for cases? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 57% 61% 64% B 14% 19% 18% C 8% 7% 6% D 4% 2% 2% Fail 9% 2% 2% No Grade 8% 9% 9% Average Grade 3.1 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 16 ## Page 45 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 6a. How would you grade Judge Nickell on considering all information presented when making a decision? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 59% 60% 62% B 13% 17% 16% C 4% 6% 5% D 3% 3% 2% Fail 10% 4% 4% No Grade 10% 10% 11% Average Grade 3.2 3.4 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 17 ## Page 46 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 6b. How would you grade Judge Nickell on having knowledge of the rules of evidence, procedure and the law? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 53% 64% 67% B 18% 17% 16% C 4% 5% 5% D 4% 2% 2% Fail 11% 2% 2% No Grade 11% 10% 10% Average Grade 3.1 3.5 3.6 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 18 ## Page 47 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 6c. How would you grade Judge Nickell on deciding important matters in a timely way? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 56% 60% 62% B 19% 19% 18% C 4% 6% 6% D 1% 2% 2% Fail 6% 2% 2% No Grade 13% 11% 10% Average Grade 3.4 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 19 ## Page 48 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 6d. How would you grade Judge Nickell on making decisions without regard to public criticism? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 57% 53% 55% B 13% 15% 14% C 3% 5% 5% D 3% 2% 2% Fail 8% 3% 3% No Grade 17% 21% 22% Average Grade 3.3 3.4 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 Page 20 ## Page 49 Judge Bette Raye Nickell Non-Attorney Survey 7. Do you recommend that Judge Nickell be retained in office or not be retained in office? Judge All County All Trial Nickell Judges 2002 Judges 2002 Retain in office 76% 81% 83% Do not retain in office 14% 9% 8% No opinion 9% 11% 9% Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 7 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 Bette Raye Nickell Survey Disposition Report Total Refusals & Undeliv- Other Response Sent Completes Nonresponse erables Response Rate District Attorney 2 2 Attorney For Defendant 12 5 6 1 45.5% Attorney for Plaintiff Guardian ad Litem Unknown Attorney Type Sub Total: 14 5 8 1 38.5% Law Enforcement 25 7 3 1 14 70.0% Social Services Caseworker Employee 1 1 100.0% Defendant 141 35 66 37 3 34.7% Plaintiff 23 14 2 5 2 87.5% Juror 17 14 1 1 1 93.3% Victim 12 3 5 3 1 37.5% Other 9 2 4 3 33.3% Sub Total: 228 76 81 50 21 48.4% Total: 242 81 89 51 21 47.6% 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 7

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

• 2002 evaluation on OJPE · scraped Apr 17, 2026