← All judges

James D. Zimmerman

Trial Court · Gilpin · Gilpin

Meets Standards(Retain)3 cycles on record

Evaluation history

  • 2002 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Gilpin · Gilpin
    Meets Standards(Retain)
    VotersRetained· 69.9% yes
    103,991 yes · 44,721 no50% needed to 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 First Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge James D. Zimmerman BE RETAINED. Judge Zimmerman has served as a District Court Judge for 26 years. His caseload includes mental health, probate, civil, criminal and juvenile. He continues to be recognized as hard working and is praised for excelling in his knowledge of the law. The Commission continues to be concerned about his docket efficiency, although he recently inherited a heavy caseload. The judge needs to continue to improve his judicial temperament. Judge Zimmerman is president of the Juvenile Assessment Center Board, which is responsible for providing individualized processing, assessing, screening and referring services for at-risk juveniles and juvenile offenders. Attorneys surveyed recommended by 83% that the judge be retained in office, 13% recommended not to retain and 5% had no opinion. Non-attorneys surveyed recommended by 77% that he be retained, 11% recommended not to retain and 12% had no opinion.
  • 1996 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Gilpin · Gilpin
    Meets Standards(Retain)
    VotersRetained· 62.2% yes
    100,708 yes · 61,113 no50% needed to retain
    Retention Year: 1996 Recommendation: Retain Based on the information available information, the Commission on Judicial Performance recommends Judge James D. Zimmerman BE RETAINED. Judge Zimmerman was a county court judge in Jefferson County from 1975 to 1982 when he was appointed to the district court.  From 1970 to 1975 Judge Zimmerman was a deputy district attorney for the First Judicial District. He is currently chairman of the County Community Corrections Board.  Since 1982 he has served on this board, which oversees the placement annually of about 800 offenders in halfway houses and non-residential correction programs. Judge Zimmerman presides over felony criminal cases and civil cases including al full domestic relations docket. Judge Zimmerman is supported by attorney and court personnel for retention. His strongest support comes from law enforcement personnel, due in part to his reputation as a tough sentencing judge.  While Judge Zimmerman is recognized as hard working and praised for his knowledge of the law, several survey respondents indicated he is short tempered, especially in divorce cases. Judge Zimmerman recognizes this problem and admits to being critical of poor representation by attorneys.  He assures the commission he will work to maintain acceptable judicial temperament.
  • 1990 retention cycle
    Trial Court · Gilpin · Gilpin
    Meets Standards(Retain)
    VotersRetained· 62.5% yes
    76,599 yes · 45,982 no50% needed to retain
    Retention Year: 1990 Recommendation: Retain Judicial Performance Commission’s recommendation: Should Be Retained. Judge Zimmerman was appointed to the District Court in 1982. His past experiences include several years as a county court judge in Jefferson County and four years as a deputy district attorney for the 1st Judicial District. He was appointed to the Jefferson County Community Corrections Board and has been chairman since 1987. He participates in community activities such as Boy Scouts and student mock trials. Zimmerman presides over criminal and civil cases. He hears domestic relations cases and appeals from county courts. All groups support Zimmerman’s retention. He is praised for his extensive knowledge of the law and his professionalism. He is well-prepared and conducts a well-organized court. Several respondents, in domestic cases, felt he is short-tempered and insensitive. He is generally tough on criminal sentencing.

Surveys & reports

  • 2002 cycle
    • 2002 Retention Survey Report(PDF on OJPE)
      Read full retention survey textexpand
      ## Page 1 March 4, 2002 The Honorable James D. Zimmerman Court Section 100 Jefferson County Parkway Golden, CO 80401-6002 Dear Judge Zimmerman: 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 James D. Zimmerman 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 James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 1a. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on being courteous toward parties or witnesses? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 38% 65% 65% B 34% 20% 21% C 14% 6% 7% D 7% 3% 3% Fail 2% 2% 2% No Grade 6% 4% 3% Average Grade 3.1 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 1 ## Page 4 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 1b. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on being courteous toward attorneys? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 34% 60% 61% B 41% 22% 22% C 16% 8% 8% D 6% 4% 4% Fail 2% 3% 3% No Grade 2% 3% 3% Average Grade 3.0 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 2 ## Page 5 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 1c. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on being courteous toward pro se parties? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 30% 43% 48% B 24% 13% 14% C 11% 4% 6% D 5% 1% 2% Fail 2% 1% 2% No Grade 28% 37% 29% Average Grade 3.1 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 3 ## Page 6 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 2a. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on treating parties equally regardless of race? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 56% 61% 63% B 12% 11% 12% C 6% 3% 3% D 2% 1% 1% Fail 1% 1% 1% No Grade 23% 24% 19% Average Grade 3.6 3.7 3.7 Letter Grade B+ A- A- Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 4 ## Page 7 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 2b. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on treating parties equally regardless of gender? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 60% 65% 66% B 15% 12% 14% C 8% 5% 5% D 2% 2% 2% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 16% 14% 12% Average Grade 3.6 3.6 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 5 ## Page 8 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 2c. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on treating parties equally regardless of age? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 61% 64% 66% B 16% 12% 13% C 9% 3% 4% D 2% 1% 1% Fail 1% 1% No Grade 13% 18% 15% Average Grade 3.6 3.7 3.7 Letter Grade B+ A- A- Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 6 ## Page 9 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 2d. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on treating parties equally regardless of social/economic status? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 56% 64% 65% B 16% 12% 13% C 7% 5% 5% D 3% 2% 2% Fail 1% 2% 2% No Grade 17% 15% 13% Average Grade 3.5 3.6 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 7 ## Page 10 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 2e. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on being fair and impartial toward both sides? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 58% 61% 60% B 23% 17% 17% C 8% 8% 8% D 5% 4% 5% Fail 1% 4% 4% No Grade 5% 6% 5% Average Grade 3.4 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade B+ B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 8 ## Page 11 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 2f. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on treating pro se parties fairly? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 46% 47% 51% B 15% 10% 11% C 6% 3% 4% D 3% 1% 1% Fail 1% 1% No Grade 31% 38% 31% Average Grade 3.5 3.6 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 9 ## Page 12 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 2g. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on not engaging in ex parte communications? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 60% 61% 59% B 11% 10% 12% C 5% 4% 4% D 1% 1% 1% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 23% 23% 21% Average Grade 3.7 3.7 3.6 Letter Grade A- A- B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 10 ## Page 13 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 3a. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on providing written communications that are clear, thorough, and well reasoned? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 48% 42% 37% B 24% 23% 23% C 8% 9% 9% D 1% 2% 2% Fail 5% 3% 2% No Grade 15% 21% 27% Average Grade 3.3 3.3 3.2 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 11 ## Page 14 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 3b. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on communicating verbally in a clear, thorough, and well reasoned manner? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 47% 55% 54% B 37% 27% 28% C 13% 9% 9% D 3% 4% Fail 4% 2% 2% No Grade 3% 3% Average Grade 3.2 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 12 ## Page 15 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 3c. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on explaining court procedures clearly and thoroughly? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 50% 54% 54% B 32% 25% 26% C 10% 9% 9% D 3% 3% 3% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 5% 8% 7% Average Grade 3.4 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 13 ## Page 16 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 4a. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on maintaining a professional demeanor in the courtroom? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 36% 64% 64% B 37% 20% 21% C 14% 6% 7% D 12% 3% 4% Fail 2% 3% 3% No Grade 3% 3% Average Grade 2.9 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B- B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 14 ## Page 17 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 4b. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on listening patiently to all testimony and arguments before issuing a ruling? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 42% 57% 57% B 33% 22% 22% C 14% 8% 8% D 7% 4% 5% Fail 3% 4% 4% No Grade 2% 5% 4% Average Grade 3.1 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 15 ## Page 18 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 5a. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on managing cases and docket efficiently and with minimal delay? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 22% 45% 46% B 23% 27% 27% C 29% 11% 11% D 12% 4% 4% Fail 10% 4% 4% No Grade 4% 9% 8% Average Grade 2.4 3.2 3.2 Letter Grade C+ B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 16 ## Page 19 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 5b. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on being punctual in commencing proceedings? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 28% 55% 54% B 36% 28% 28% C 19% 8% 9% D 6% 2% 2% Fail 8% 2% 2% No Grade 3% 4% 4% Average Grade 2.7 3.4 3.3 Letter Grade B- B+ B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 17 ## Page 20 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 5c. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on using court time efficiently? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 28% 54% 54% B 31% 26% 25% C 22% 10% 10% D 6% 3% 3% Fail 10% 3% 3% No Grade 3% 5% 5% Average Grade 2.6 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade C+ B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 18 ## Page 21 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 5d. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on being prepared for all court matters? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 49% 59% 58% B 25% 22% 23% C 13% 7% 7% D 4% 2% 3% Fail 4% 2% 2% No Grade 6% 7% 7% Average Grade 3.2 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 19 ## Page 22 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 5e. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on being willing to handle cases on the docket even when they are complicated and time Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 33% 49% 49% B 27% 18% 18% C 16% 7% 7% D 6% 2% 3% Fail 6% 3% 3% No Grade 13% 21% 21% Average Grade 2.9 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B- B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 20 ## Page 23 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 5f. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on providing quick access to the court in emergency matters? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 23% 32% 33% B 15% 13% 13% C 10% 5% 5% D 3% 2% 2% Fail 3% 2% 2% No Grade 47% 46% 45% Average Grade 3.0 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 21 ## Page 24 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 6a. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on having knowledge of the rules of evidence and procedure? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 63% 57% 53% B 22% 24% 25% C 6% 8% 9% D 2% 2% 3% Fail 2% 2% 2% No Grade 5% 7% 7% Average Grade 3.5 3.4 3.3 Letter Grade B+ B+ B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 22 ## Page 25 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 6b. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on ruling on motions in a timely matter? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 40% 49% 49% B 31% 25% 25% C 13% 8% 8% D 2% 3% 3% Fail 9% 3% 3% No Grade 6% 11% 13% Average Grade 3.0 3.3 3.3 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 23 ## Page 26 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 6c. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on making the correct decision based upon the law and the facts? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 50% 45% 44% B 27% 29% 29% C 13% 11% 12% D 3% 5% 5% Fail 4% 4% 4% No Grade 4% 6% 6% Average Grade 3.2 3.1 3.1 Letter Grade B B B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 24 ## Page 27 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 6d. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on making decisions without regard to possible criticism? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 51% 51% 50% B 20% 20% 20% C 10% 8% 8% D 2% 3% 3% Fail 2% 3% 3% No Grade 15% 16% 15% Average Grade 3.4 3.4 3.3 Letter Grade B+ B+ B Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 25 ## Page 28 Judge James D. Zimmerman Attorney Survey 7. Do you recommend that Judge Zimmerman be retained in office or not be retained in office? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 Retain in office 83% 85% 84% Do not retain in office 13% 10% 11% No opinion 5% 5% 5% Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 26 ## Page 29 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 1a. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on being courteous toward everyone in the courtroom? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 37% 68% 67% B 37% 19% 19% C 11% 5% 6% D 4% 2% 2% Fail 3% 2% 2% No Grade 8% 4% 4% Average Grade 3.1 3.6 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 1 ## Page 30 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 1b. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on being courteous toward persons representing themselves? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 33% 44% 47% B 36% 14% 15% C 11% 4% 5% D 1% 1% 2% Fail 2% 2% No Grade 19% 35% 30% Average Grade 3.2 3.5 3.4 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 2 ## Page 31 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 2a. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on treating parties equally regardless of race? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 56% 68% 65% B 21% 14% 14% C 5% 3% 4% D 1% 1% Fail 1% 2% No Grade 17% 13% 14% Average Grade 3.6 3.7 3.6 Letter Grade B+ A- B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 3 ## Page 32 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 2b. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on treating parties equally regardless of gender? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 56% 70% 67% B 25% 15% 16% C 4% 4% 5% D 1% 2% Fail 1% 2% 2% No Grade 13% 8% 9% Average Grade 3.6 3.6 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 4 ## Page 33 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 2c. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on treating parties equally regardless of age? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 57% 70% 67% B 23% 15% 16% C 1% 4% 5% D 4% 1% 1% Fail 1% 2% No Grade 15% 9% 10% Average Grade 3.6 3.7 3.6 Letter Grade B+ A- B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 5 ## Page 34 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 2d. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on treating parties equally regardless of social/economic status? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 53% 69% 66% B 24% 15% 15% C 4% 4% 5% D 3% 2% 2% Fail 3% 2% 3% No Grade 13% 9% 9% Average Grade 3.4 3.6 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 6 ## Page 35 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 2e. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on being fair and impartial toward both sides? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 47% 68% 65% B 27% 15% 16% C 8% 5% 5% D 4% 2% 2% Fail 1% 4% 4% No Grade 13% 6% 7% Average Grade 3.3 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 7 ## Page 36 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 2f. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on treating parties without attorneys fairly? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 49% 40% 43% B 25% 11% 12% C 7% 3% 4% D 4% 1% 2% Fail 1% 2% 3% No Grade 13% 44% 37% Average Grade 3.4 3.5 3.4 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 8 ## Page 37 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 2g. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on giving each side enough time to present his or her case? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 53% 66% 63% B 31% 16% 16% C 3% 5% 5% D 3% 2% 2% Fail 1% 2% 3% No Grade 9% 9% 11% Average Grade 3.5 3.6 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 9 ## Page 38 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 3a. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on speaking in a way that is clearly understood? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 57% 72% 70% B 27% 18% 19% C 5% 5% 6% D 3% 1% 2% Fail 1% 1% No Grade 8% 2% 2% Average Grade 3.5 3.6 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 10 ## Page 39 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 3b. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on explaining court procedures clearly and thoroughly? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 64% 71% 69% B 17% 18% 18% C 8% 5% 6% D 3% 1% 2% Fail 3% 1% 2% No Grade 5% 4% 4% Average Grade 3.5 3.6 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 11 ## Page 40 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 4a. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on maintaining a professional demeanor in the courtroom? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 49% 74% 72% B 25% 15% 16% C 9% 5% 5% D 5% 2% 2% Fail 1% 1% 2% No Grade 9% 3% 3% Average Grade 3.3 3.6 3.6 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 12 ## Page 41 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 4b. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on listening patiently to all testimony and arguments before issuing a ruling? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 47% 68% 66% B 31% 16% 17% C 8% 5% 5% D 3% 2% 2% Fail 3% 3% 3% No Grade 9% 6% 6% Average Grade 3.3 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 13 ## Page 42 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 5a. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on managing cases efficiently and with minimal delay? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 41% 57% 56% B 28% 21% 22% C 15% 8% 8% D 5% 3% 3% Fail 3% 2% 2% No Grade 8% 9% 9% Average Grade 3.1 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 14 ## Page 43 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 5b. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on starting court on time? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 43% 59% 57% B 24% 22% 23% C 15% 8% 9% D 8% 3% 3% Fail 1% 2% 2% No Grade 9% 6% 6% Average Grade 3.1 3.4 3.4 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 15 ## Page 44 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 5c. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on being prepared for cases? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 56% 66% 64% B 25% 17% 18% C 5% 5% 6% D 1% 1% 2% Fail 3% 2% 2% No Grade 9% 9% 9% Average Grade 3.4 3.6 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 16 ## Page 45 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 6a. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on considering all information presented when making a decision? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 60% 63% 62% B 17% 15% 16% C 9% 5% 5% D 1% 2% 2% Fail 4% 3% 4% No Grade 8% 11% 11% Average Grade 3.4 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 17 ## Page 46 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 6b. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on having knowledge of the rules of evidence, procedure and the law? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 71% 69% 67% B 15% 14% 16% C 5% 4% 5% D 1% 2% Fail 3% 2% 2% No Grade 7% 10% 10% Average Grade 3.6 3.6 3.6 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 18 ## Page 47 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 6c. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on deciding important matters in a timely way? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 53% 64% 62% B 28% 17% 18% C 5% 5% 6% D 3% 2% 2% Fail 4% 2% 2% No Grade 7% 10% 10% Average Grade 3.3 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 19 ## Page 48 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 6d. How would you grade Judge Zimmerman on making decisions without regard to public criticism? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 A 51% 57% 55% B 17% 13% 14% C 8% 4% 5% D 1% 2% 2% Fail 3% 2% 3% No Grade 20% 22% 22% Average Grade 3.4 3.5 3.5 Letter Grade B+ B+ B+ Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 Page 20 ## Page 49 Judge James D. Zimmerman Non-Attorney Survey 7. Do you recommend that Judge Zimmerman be retained in office or not be retained in office? Judge All District All Trial Zimmerman Judges 2002 Judges 2002 Retain in office 77% 85% 83% Do not retain in office 11% 7% 8% No opinion 12% 8% 9% Judicial Performance Survey 2002 Judicial District 1 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 James D. Zimmerman Survey Disposition Report Total Refusals & Undeliv- Other Response Sent Completes Nonresponse erables Response Rate District Attorney 24 13 10 1 56.5% Attorney For Defendant 80 52 15 3 10 77.6% Attorney for Plaintiff 45 27 11 1 6 71.1% Guardian ad Litem 7 7 100.0% Unknown Attorney Type Sub Total: 156 99 36 4 17 73.3% Law Enforcement Social Services Caseworker 2 1 1 50.0% Employee 52 31 18 2 1 63.3% Defendant 93 11 40 35 7 21.6% Plaintiff 52 17 26 6 3 39.5% Juror Victim 8 2 3 3 40.0% Other 83 17 48 12 6 26.2% Sub Total: 290 79 136 55 20 36.7% Total: 446 178 172 59 37 50.9% 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 1

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