Seventeenth Judicial District - Adams County Judge
Honorable Michael A. Cox
Retention Year: 2018
Recommendation: Meets Performance Standard
The Seventeenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously (10-0) agrees that the Honorable Michael A. Cox MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
Prior to his appointment to the Adams County Court on January 31, 1995, Michael Cox was an attorney in private practice. Judge Cox received his undergraduate degree from the University of Denver. In 1979, he received his Juris Doctor, from the University of Denver College of Law. Over the years, Judge Cox has involved himself in numerous community programs. He has been actively involved in the Adams County 4-H program for over 20 years. He works as a volunteer at DIA assisting the public traveling through Col-orado. He is also deeply involved in the “Every 15 Minutes” program, enlightening students to the dan-gers of drinking and driving. Judge Cox is an active participant and past Board Member of Almost Home, Inc. and is a volunteer photographer for events at The Armory Performing Arts Center in Brighton.
The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Cox, reviewed opinions he authored, ob-served him in court, considered his self-evaluation of the past four years on the bench, and reviewed survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys who had experience with Judge Cox. Survey re-spondents combined, answered 85% Yes, meets performance standards 11% answered No, does not meet performance standards, and 4% had no opinion. Attorneys answered 80% favorable to 20% unfa-vorable. Non-attorneys answered 88% favorable, 6% unfavorable, and 6% had no opinion. Jurors an-swered 94% favorable to 6% no opinion. A total of 138 qualified survey respondents submitted surveys.
During this term, Judge Cox’s docket has included 50% Criminal, 40% Misdemeanor; and 10% Traffic. Based upon the Commission’s overall evaluation, Judge Cox demonstrated that he either met or exceed-ed performed standards in all categories. He is a well-respected leader in the Adams County court sys-tem with his many years of experience on the County Court bench. Based on all our findings, the Commission unanimously agreed that Judge Cox Meets Performance Standards.