Third Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable Claude W. Appel
Retention Year: 2006
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
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The Third Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance, by a unanimous vote, recommends that Judge Claude W. Appel BE RETAINED.
Judge Appel was appointed District Judge in March of 1986 and currently serves as Chief Judge. He previously was Huerfano County Judge, being appointed in January of 1985. He also worked as Deputy District Attorney for the 3rd Judicial District and was in private practice where he specialized in criminal law.
Judge Appel serves on the Colorado Bar Associations’ Ethics Committee, has taught classes in continuing legal education and is on the CBA’s ethics hotline to answer calls from attorneys who have ethics related questions. Judge Appel prefers hearing juvenile cases, currently 20% of his caseload, as he feels a difference can be made in their lives. He has established a very successful Teen Court in Huerfano County, in which all participants are peers of the defendant. A strong point of Judge Appel is his docket control, in which he tries to better utilize staff, resources and to save “customers” time and money.
One of his goals is to develop better management skills to fulfill his administrative duties.
Judge Appel received high marks for overall case management, keeping cases moving according to schedule, maintaining control over proceedings and having knowledge of rules of procedure and evidence. Of the attorneys responding to the question of retention, 79% strongly recommended that Judge Appel be retained in office. The non-attorney survey results indicated that 64% favor retention in office.