Twentieth Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable Roxanne Bailin
Retention Year: 1990
Recommendation: Retain
Judicial Performance Commission’s recommendation: Should Be Retained.
Judge Bailin began her judicial career as a county court judge in 1982. She was then appointed to the District Court bench in 1987 and has served in that capacity for the last three years. Prior to joining the bench, she had been a Colorado Rural Legal Services attorney in Trinidad, and a director of the Legal Aid Clinic at the University of Colorado. She has taught professional responsibility and trial advocacy at the law school for several years.
Bailin exemplifies the qualities of an excellent judge. She is intelligent, well-schooled in the law and fair.
Bailin appears professional in the court at all times without seeming severe or unnecessarily aloof. She is able to control her courtroom without seeming rude or arbitrary.
She listens well, and seems to have a sense of herself that allows her to attend to the very important disputes of the litigants who come before her with compassion where appropriate, and firmness where necessary. The decency with which she treats those who come into her court is constant and noticeable.
The only significant criticism of Bailin presented to the commission was that she tends to favor women in domestic-related disputes.
Confronted with this in her interview, Bailin responded she is aware of this criticism and she is constantly checking and evaluating herself in this regard. Observations of her performance confirm she does this and does it well.