Eighteenth Judicial District - Arapahoe County Court Judge
Honorable Christine Noelle Chauche
Retention Year: 2008
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
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The Eighteenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends by a unanimous vote that Judge Christine Noelle Chauche BE RETAINED.
Background: Judge Chauche received her undergraduate degree in Government from the University of Texas at Austin in 1982 and her law degree from the University of Denver in 1991. Judge Chauche has actively participated in the Arapahoe County Bar Association where she currently serves as President. She has devoted countless volunteer hours assisting with the activities of the bar association primarily focused on assisting underprivileged juvenile school programs and student moot court. She was recognized by the Arapahoe County Bar Association as the outstanding young lawyer of the year in 1998 and was recognized for Outstanding Contributions to the Juvenile Justice system in 2004. This is Judge Chauche’s first review by the commission.
Judge Chauche was appointed County Court Judge in January 2005. Prior to that appointment, she served the State of Colorado as a District Court Magistrate in the Eighteenth Judicial District for seven years handling juvenile and domestic matters. Prior to becoming a magistrate, Judge Chauche worked in the District Attorneys office for the Eighteenth Judicial District. Her legal service to Arapahoe County thus totals almost 18 years. Her initial appointment to the County Court Bench was to the criminal felony intake division. Her current caseload consists of 14% civil, 17% drunk driving related matters, 15% misdemeanors, 20% small claims cases, and 21% general traffic matters.
The Commission conducted extensive research in making this recommendation. Anonymous public and attorney surveys were obtained concerning her performance ranging over a broad area of concerns from demeanor to legal competence. Interviews were conducted with people involved in the courtroom such as the Chief Judge of the District Court, the elected District Attorney, the Chief Probation officer, the Clerk of the Court, the Deputy State Public Defender, and court staff. The Commission conducted an extensive interview with Judge Chauche, read a number of decisions rendered by Judge Chauche, reviewed case processing statistics for workload and timeliness, considered a written self review, and conducted personal observation of the judge working in her courtroom.
Recommendation: In reviewing the surveys of attorneys who responded, 95% recommended retention of Judge Chauche and of the non-attorneys who responded, 88% recommended retention of Judge Chauche. She received excellent ratings for courtesy, impartiality, knowledge, and application of the law. She was also given excellent ratings for demeanor, fairness, communication skills, diligence, and knowledge of the law. The most representative comment from attorneys and non-attorneys was that Judge Chauche is fair to those who come before her. The Commission finds that Judge Chauche is an excellent judge and recommends that she be retained.