Brown, Jaclyn 2018 Evaluation

Reports:
2018 Retention Survey Report

The Seventeenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously (10-0) finds that Judge Jaclyn Brown MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.

Judge Brown, was appointed in 2016 to be a district court judge in the 17th Judicial District. She previously worked on commercial and complex civil litigation at the Denver office of Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP. Her areas of practice included real estate, construction, eminent domain, contractual disputes and insurance issues. Among other distinctions, she was recognized as a Denver Business Journal “Forty under 40” honoree and earned the title of the Denver Bar Association’s Young Lawyer of the Year (2013). The same year, as part of a team of pro-bono lawyers, she was named Lawyer of the Year by Law Week Colorado. Judge Brown is a graduate of the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis and did her undergraduate work at the University of Colorado at Boulder.  Judge Brown thinks of herself as dedicated, hard-working, and fully invested in her work. “I care deeply about every case that comes before me and give each matter the time and attention it deserves.”

The Commission based its “meets judicial performance standards” finding on a review of several of Judge Brown's legal opinions, a personal interview, multiple in-court observations, her self-evaluation, and survey response from attorneys and non-attorneys who had experience with Judge Brown. Among the survey questions was “based on your response to the previous question related to the performance evaluation criteria, do you think Judge Brown meets judicial performance standards?” Of the attorneys responding to the survey, 97% answered yes, meets performance standards and 3% answered no, does not meet performance standards. Of the non-attorneys responding to the survey, 95% answered yes, meets performance standards and 5% answered no, does not meet performance standards. Judge Brown received a 100% “meets performance standards” rating from jurors.

Judge Brown’s current docket is one-half domestic relations matters and one-half civil cases. Her survey results from attorneys on case management, application of the law, communications, diligence and demeanor ranged from 3.73 to 3.83 on a 4-point scale. A typical case-management comment from the survey states “Judge Brown has a practical, flexible and accommodating approach to scheduling, managing, and presiding over hearings. “She rules on procedural and substantive matters with all reasonable speed.” Judge Brown consistently received high scores on her legal knowledge, being able to identify and analyze relevant facts, basing her decisions on evidence and arguments, being fair and impartial to both sides of the case, and consistently applying laws and rules. Her ratings in these areas ranged from 3.70 to 3.74. She consistently received a rating of 3.7 or higher on all aspects of demeanor: Giving proceedings a sense of dignity; treating participants with respect; and conducting her courtroom in a neutral manner. She received a 3.73 average for her diligence, defined as using good judgment in relevant aspects of law and rules, doing homework when necessary, being prepared, and being willing to handle complicated and time-consuming cases.