Dang, Cindy 2018 Evaluation

Reports:
2018 Retention Survey Report

The Seventeenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance voted seven to three that Judge Cindy Dang MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.

Judge Cindy Dang earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from UC Irvine in 1994, and her Juris Doctorate from the Western School of Law in San Diego in 1996. In addition to representing clients in domestic, criminal, juvenile and immigration matters, she served as a guardian ad litem and child and family investigator as well as deputy DA in Colorado Springs prior to her appointment to the 17th Judicial District in 2013. Judge Dang first served as a district court magistrate in the Seventeenth Judicial District before being appointed as a county judge. Judge Dang also volunteers with many organizations that support refugee and immigrant families. 

The Commission’s assessment and evaluation is based on a review of professional surveys of attorneys and others who have appeared in her court, a personal interview with the judge, her self-evaluation, legal opinions rendered by the judge, case-processing statistics, and personal observations of the judge in her courtroom. The results of the professional survey reflect the opinions of 54 attorneys and 73 non-attorneys. These surveys include questions about demeanor, fairness, communication, diligence, and application of the law.  Nineteen percent of the attorneys who responded believe that Judge Dang met performance standards, 65% of the attorneys did not believe Judge Dang met performance standards and 15% had no opinion.  Eighty-nine percent of the non-attorneys who responded to the survey believe that Judge Dang met performance standards, while 6% of non-attorneys did not believe she met performance standards and 6% had no opinion. 

Judge Dang’s workload consists of 33% criminal cases, 34% jury trials and 34% traffic. During the term, she has had the most jury trials of all the county judges in Adams County. When Judge Dang was appointed to the bench her division had an open case load of 604 which she has been able to reduce to 417. Of her appealed decisions over 90% were upheld by the higher court. Judge Dang presented a comprehensive action plan designed to address some of her lower survey scores in communication, demeanor and docket management. Many on the commission believe she is committed to, and capable of improving her judicial performance. She has been proactive in recognizing areas of concern and has taken steps to improve her performance. She has enrolled in numerous classes to enhance her bench skills as well as enlisted in the help of more experienced judges to serve as mentors. Given her limited time as a county judge, it is the belief of this Commission that she will improve if given time to enact her action plan.