Second Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable H. Jeffrey Bayless
Retention Year: 1996
Recommendation: Retain
The Commission on Judicial Performance of the Second Judicial District recommends Judge Bayless BE RETAINED.
Judge Bayless graduated from Cornell College in 1967 and received his law degree (cum laude) from the University of Denver in 1971.
Prior to his appointment to the Court, Judge Bayless served in the army reserve. From 1971 to 1973 he was a law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Sherman G. Finesilver. From 1973 through 1979 Judge Bayless was a deputy district attorney for the Denver district attorney’s office. He then entered private practice before returning to the district attorney’s office in 1982 where he remained until 1987.
Judge Bayless was appointed to the Denver district court in January 1987. Since his appointment Judge Bayless presided over domestic relations, civil and criminal cases and currently hears domestic relations cases.
Judge Bayless is very highly rated in all areas surveyed. Out of 46 courthouse personnel surveyed, 84.8% voted to retain, 6.5% to not retain, and 8.7% had no opinion. Out of 60 jurors surveyed, 98.3% voted to retain, and 1.7% had no opinion. Attorney evaluations were also very high, but specific percentages are not reported to a possible sampling error. Since his appointment to the bench nearly ten years ago, Judge Bayless has compiled a consistent record of excellent reviews by all segments of the judicial system.