Twenty-First Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable Thomas M. Deister
Retention Year: 2008
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
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The Twenty-First Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously recommends that Judge Thomas M. Deister BE RETAINED.
Judge Deister received an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Denver in 1971. Judge Deister graduated cum laude in the honors program, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was a Boettcher Scholar. Judge Deister received his law degree from the University of Denver in 1974. In 1975 Judge Deister attended Military Justice School and worked as a Judge Advocate General’s Corps Officer until 1978 when he was honorably discharged. Judge Deister has volunteered in local sports programs, speaks regularly to local schools in the area of law-related education and is active in his church.
Judge Deister previously worked in the private sector, focusing primarily on criminal and juvenile delinquency matters. Prior to becoming a member of the Colorado judiciary, Judge Deister served as the Assistant District Attorney for the Twenty-First Judicial District. Judge Deister was appointed by the Governor to serve as a County Court Judge in 1994 until 2006 when he was appointed by the Governor to serve as a District Court Judge, which is his current position. He is a member of the Colorado and Mesa County Bar Associations.
Judge Deister was evaluated through attorney surveys, appellate judge surveys, non-attorney surveys, court-room observations, a self-evaluation and an interview with the commission. Attorneys consistently graded Judge Deister as a high performer whose grades exceeded the average of district court judges statewide. The appellate judges graded Judge Deister as a high performer. Judge Deister was graded by non-attorneys in the high range of performance.
The Commission determined, through Judge Deister’s self-evaluation and Judge Deister’s interview, that he is committed to maintaining a high standard in his duties, to continue improvement and to the betterment of the judicial system as a whole. The Commission particularly noted Judge Deister’s efficiency, legal knowledge in the criminal area, fairness, professionalism and communication with both legal and non-legal court participants. The Commission did not find any areas of significantly poor performance.