Ninth Judicial District - Pitkin County Court Judge
Honorable Erin Fernandez-Ely
Retention Year: 2010
Recommendation: Retain
Reports:
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The Ninth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously recommends that Judge Erin Fernandez-Ely BE RETAINED, with one Commissioner absent and one Commissioner recused.
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, reviewed written orders issued by her, conducted a personal interview with the judge, made a number of visits to Judge Fernandez-Ely’s courtroom, and received verbal comments from attorneys and non-attorneys.
The Commission felt that Judge Fernandez-Ely has continued to be an asset to the Ninth Judicial District bench, and has done an excellent job of moving her docket, making attorneys and non-attorneys feel comfortable in her courtroom, and being willing to look into and effectively utilize non-traditional methods to assist defendants in their rehabilitation. 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.
Of all attorneys surveyed about retention, 86% recommended to retain, 14% not to retain, and 0% expressed no opinion. Of all non-attorneys surveyed, 83% recommended to retain, 9% not to retain, and 9% expressed no opinion. Excluding those who had no opinion, 91% recommended retention and 9% not to retain. (These percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.) These percentages were higher than the average for all county court judges in the Ninth Judicial District.