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Steven E. Shinn

Trial Court · Kit Carson · Kit Carson

Meets Standards(Retain)2 cycles on record

Evaluation history

  • 2000 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Kit Carson · Kit Carson
    Meets Standards(Retain)
    VotersRetained· 75.2% yes
    19,613 yes · 6,487 no50% needed to retain
    Retention Year: 2000 Recommendation: Retain The Thirteenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Steven E. Shinn BE RETAINED. Judge Shinn was appointed to the Thirteenth District Court bench in July 1986 and has served for 14 years. On March 3, 2000 Judge Shinn was appointed to the position of Chief Judge of the Thirteenth Judicial District by Mary Mullarkey, Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice. Judge Shinn hears cases in his court as follows: 20% civil, 30% domestic relations, 2 % traffic, 25% felony, 15% criminal, and 8% juvenile. Three hundred fifty-nine questionnaires for evaluation of Judge Shinn were sent to attorneys who practiced in his court in the past two years as well as to non-attorneys (law enforcement, jurors, court/probation employees, crime victims, litigants, and social service personnel). One hundred eighty-two (50%) of the surveys were returned. Of the attorneys surveyed 93% favored retention, 3% favored non-retention and 5% had no opinion. Of the non-attorneys surveyed 90% favored retention, 3% favored non-retention and 7% had no opinion. Judge Shinn is a conscientious and competent judge who works hard at improving his effectiveness on the bench and handling administrative duties. He will continue to attend the National Judicial College to learn new methods of case and time management. He has completed a 15-day course in "Settlement Skills". Judge Shinn is very active and visible in the community as a 4-H leader and parent, livestock superintendent at the Logan County Fair, past president of the Sterling Baseball Organization, a member of the advisory committee of the Law Enforcement Training Academy at Northeastern Junior College, and many more. His demeanor is excellent. He effectively uses a bit of humor to break the tension and relieve his own stress. He uses a common sense approach in sentencing, however has had some criticism in this area. He states some criticism can't be avoided because the restrictions of statutes and plea bargains make sentencing difficult. The vote of the eight member Commission was unanimous to retain Judge Shinn.
  • 1994 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Kit Carson · Kit Carson
    Meets Standards(Retain)
    VotersRetained· 65.4% yes
    15,004 yes · 7,926 no50% needed to retain
    Retention Year: 1994 Recommendation: Retain Judge Shinn was appointed to the Thirteenth Judicial District Court Bench in 1986, and has served in a full-time capacity for eight years. He is based in Sterling. He hears the entire range of cases that come before the District Court including civil, domestic relations, felony and criminal misdemeanor, and juvenile cases. Judge Shinn covers cases in the seven counties of the Judicial District as well as hearing cases on a volunteer basis in other Judicial Districts such as Larimer and Boulder in the past. Evaluations received from attorneys, courthouse personnel, jurors, and law enforcement personnel consistently rated Judge Shinn highly capable. In one area in the attorney evaluations and in the courthouse personnel evaluations, a concern was expressed about his lack of promptness in making written decisions. Judge Shinn is aware of that concern and is making significant efforts to improve that performance. It is interesting to note that the litigants that responded to the evaluations disagreed with the other respondents in numerous areas. This was not surprising to Judge Shinn because of the unusual caseload he has had in the last several years dealing with complex, highly controversial matters in the District and in the extra assignments he accepted outside the District. Form an in-person interview with Judge Shinn, the Commission finds him to be a people-oriented judge who is very interested in helping people to settle disputes both in and out of the courtroom. He is significantly involved in the community with young people in activities such as the county fair and summer youth programs. The Thirteenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Shinn BE RETAINED.

Surveys & reports

No survey reports on record for this judge.

Sources