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Thomas W. Ossola

Trial Court · Garfield · Garfield

Meets Standards(Retain)2 cycles on record

Evaluation history

  • 2000 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Garfield · Garfield
    Meets Standards(Retain)
    VotersRetained· 74.4% yes
    16,125 yes · 5,544 no50% needed to retain
    Retention Year: 2000 Recommendation: Retain The Ninth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Thomas W. Ossola BE RETAINED. This recommendation is based on data from written questionnaires, personal interview with the judge, and courtroom observations. Judge Ossola was appointed to the County Court bench in 1976 and was appointed to serve on the District Court bench on February 1, 1980. He currently hears criminal and civil cases. He serves as Water Judge for Water Division No. 5, and since 1991 has continuously served as Chief Judge for the Ninth Judicial District. His responsibilities as Chief Judge entail devotion of significant time to administrative duties involving fiscal matters, personnel management, facilities oversight, assignment of cases, and county court supervision, all in addition to his usual duty of handling a case load as do the other district judges. Judge Ossola is justifiably proud of the efficient administrative organization and operation of the Ninth Judicial District. The group of non-attorney respondents to the questionnaires include court and probation employees, crime victims, jurors, law enforcement personnel, litigants and social service personnel. This group responded with 58% recommending retention in office. Twenty-nine percent (29%) of this group recommended non-retention and 14% offer no opinion as to retention. Attorney questionnaires rate the judge as follows: 69% recommend retention, 27% recommend non-retention and 4% express no opinion. Judge Ossola received favorable comments for his passionate devotion to the judicial process, particularly his attempts to comply with the letter and spirit of recent judicial department state-wide directives on case processing and docket management. The judge has a reputation for being well prepared when conducting court business; and he takes his responsibilities very seriously. He acknowledged his need to increase his patience level instead of becoming frustrated or hurried with litigants or counsel when certain cases are being presented to him; and he voiced a commitment to address concerns expressed by non-attorneys and attorneys alike in this area of judicial temperament. Judge Ossola is quite proud to have the opportunity to serve as District Judge, which he perceives as an extension of his legal training and previous service as an attorney in the public and private sectors. The Ninth Judicial District Performance Commission recommends that Judge Thomas W. Ossola be RETAINED in office.
  • 1994 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Garfield · Garfield
    Meets Standards(Retain)
    Retention Year: 1994 Recommendation: Retain Judge Ossola was appointed a County Court Judge in 1976. Judge Ossola has been a District Court Judge since January 1980. He is Chief Judge of the Ninth Judicial District and has a variety of administrative duties in that capacity. The Colorado Supreme Court appointed him Water Judge in Water Division No .5 which encompasses a large part of the drainage of the Colorado River. The burdens of administrative duties of Chief Judge in the district have been heavy with a rapidly expanding case load and significant reductions in budget. The questionnaires distributed by the Judicial Department have produced mixed results on Judge Ossola – both positive and negative. The Commission believes that the evaluations, even though with negative comments, show a consensus that the judge should be retained. Most of the responses from attorneys to particular questions were 80 to 90% favorable, with a lower figure (62%) on courtesy. Answers from a large number of attorneys were: 76% to retain, 18% not to retain, and 6% no opinion. His rating on diligence was 98%. A sample of attorney comments is as follows: “Judge Ossola is an acceptable judge but not a good one. His interpretations of the law are inconsistent, unpredictable and too often wrong. It seems like I have had fare more trips to the Court of Appeals on his rulings that should have been necessary to get the correct result. He seems to have trouble with the difficult domestic cases. I can only reluctantly recommend his retention.” “I have occasion to appear before many of the judges on the Western Slope and some judges in the Denver Metro area. Judge Ossola is one of the best, overall judges I have been privileged to practice before. I only wish all districts could be as fortunate to have someone of his quality” The Commission concludes that Judge Ossola is a fair and impartial judge who is among the hardest working of judges. The comments brought some problems to light. The Commission has concluded the judge’s occasional displays of temperament or anger are not helpful to the process. It is clear that, with years of experience, he has grown in his ability to judge. He has commenced to delegate a number of his duties and tasks as Chief Judge.  The Commission endorses the distribution of duties and believe it will be of benefit to all. The administrative tasks with a larger work load and decreasing budget have contributed substantially to the pressures on the office of Chief Judge. The Commission believes that there will be further improvements in the evaluations of Judge Ossola in future years. The Ninth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Thomas W. Ossola BE RETAINED.

Surveys & reports

No survey reports on record for this judge.

Sources