Second Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable Karen L. Brody
Retention Year: 2016
Recommendation: Meets Performance Standard
Reports:
2016 Retention Survey Report (PDF)
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The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance on a vote of 10 to 0 unanimously recommends that Judge Karen L. Brody BE RETAINED.
Governor John Hickenlooper appointed Judge Brody to the Denver District Court in March 2014. Before her appointment, Judge Brody was a member and owner at Lowe, Fell & Skogg, LLC, where she practiced general commercial litigation with a subspecialty in the areas of real estate and eminent domain law. Before that, she was a litigation associate at Otten, Johnson, Robinson, Neff & Ragonetti, P.C. Judge Brody earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Denver in 1982, her Master of Arts from Tufts University in 1983, and her law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 1996. Judge Brody volunteers as a member of the Board of Trustees of Historic Denver and discusses the role of a judge with college students.
The Commission reviewed the results of surveys of attorneys, appellate judges, and non- attorneys who were familiar with Judge Brody’s work, interviewed the Judge, reviewed her written self-evaluation, and reviewed three of her written opinions. In addition, selected members of the Commission observed Judge Brody in court. Of the attorneys completing the survey, 93% recommended to retain and 6% recommended not to retain. (These percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.) Of non-attorneys completing surveys 96% recommended to retain and 4% not to retain.
Judge Brody’s ratings by both attorneys and non-attorneys are higher than the average of all other district court judges standing for retention in all areas surveyed. These included retention, case management, application and knowledge of law, communications, diligence, demeanor, and fairness. Survey respondents described Judge Brody as thoughtful, intelligent, reasoned, and thorough. And courtroom observation by commissioners confirmed these attributes. Given her strengths, the Commission is confident in recommending the voters retain Judge Brody.