Ninth Judicial District - Pitkin County Court Judge
Honorable Erin Fernandez-Ely
Retention Year: 2006
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
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The Ninth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimouslyrecommends that Judge Erin Fernandez-Ely BE RETAINED.
Judge Fernandez-Ely was appointed Pitkin County Judge in January 2000. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Fernandez-Ely was in private practice in Aspen, Colorado for 23 years at a law firm specializing in real estate and land use matters, including litigation. Prior to that she was a prosecutor in Florida for three years. She graduated from Wellesley College in 1973 and the University of Florida Law School in 1975.
The Commission reviewed written evaluations of Judge Fernandez-Ely from attorneys and non-attorneys, including written comments attached to evaluation questionnaires. The Commission also reviewed her written self-evaluation, conducted a personal interview with the judge and made a number of visits to Judge Fernandez-Ely’s courtroom.
Of the attorney evaluation surveys, 92% recommended that Judge Fernandez-Ely be retained. Of the non-attorney evaluation surveys, 91% recommended retention. The non-attorney evaluations included litigants, court employees, law enforcement personnel and jurors. This year’s statistical results represent a significant improvement over Judge Fernandez-Ely’s initial review in 2002.
The Commission felt that Judge Ely has taken to heart the criticisms raised 4 years ago, has significantly improved her performance, has done an outstanding job in her first full term and that we are fortunate to have her on the bench.
The Commission was in agreement that Judge Fernandez-Ely is a competent judge and that the matters dealt with in her courtroom are handled fairly and in an expeditious, polite, orderly and competent fashion. The Commission unanimously recommends that Judge Fernandez-Ely BE RETAINED.