Ninth Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable T. Peter Craven
Retention Year: 1994
Recommendation: Retain
Judge Craven was appointed to the bench in January 1991. The responses to the Judicial Department Questionnaire were outstandingly favorable – 90% in questions after questions. The written comments made in the questionnaire were strongly supportive.
To balance the cheers for this judge, the Commission notes that, although all groups rate Judge Craven highly on fairness of sentencing, most groups rate him at a lesser percentage on the clarity of his oral decisions and on his written decisions. The attorneys, however, rate him highly on the clarity of his oral and written decisions. It is possible that his decisions are not well understood by the citizens before him as they might be.
All in all, the ratings and the comments were highly favorable. On the other hand, the Committee did receive some comment that Judge Craven is occasionally impatient with attorneys and witnesses and sometimes exhibits a tendency to interject himself into the case. A typical, favorable comment is as follows:
“Judge Craven is an extremely diligent and well organized trial judge. He is always very well prepared for trial or hearing and thoroughly familiar with pleadings and briefs that have been filed. He is prompt in making rulings, and his rulings are clear and concise. He runs an extremely efficient and organized docket. He is very much in control of the courtroom and the presentation of evidence. He is very efficient in the use of court time. An excellent judge.”
Several other comments were favorable.
The Ninth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge T. Peter Craven BE RETAINED.