Seventeenth Judicial District - Adams County Court Judge
Honorable Martin J. Flaum II
Retention Year: 2024
Recommendation: Meets Performance Standards
Reports:
2024 Retention Survey Report (PDF)
2023 Interim Survey Report (PDF)
Need an accessible PDF Document Version?
Please click on the link below and email our staff
The Seventeenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously agrees by a vote of 10-0 that Judge Martin J. Flaum II MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
Judge Flaum is noted for his pleasant demeanor and case management skills. He is credited with setting reasonable schedules for matters in front of him and for listening carefully to the parties during court proceedings. Notwithstanding emotional matters being a significant portion of his docket, Judge Flaum maintains a sense of dignity in the courtroom. He was also found to be fair and impartial. Judge Flaum is aware of the need to avoid any appearance of impropriety and stresses that part of the solution is constant internal reflection especially in civil cases and has adopted a practice of increased communication, patience, and continuing to give a legal basis for my decisions to try to overcome a perception that judges in this district are biased in civil matters, particularly eviction cases. The Commission supports his approach to addressing this issue. Judge Flaum’s community service is also to be acknowledged. He has frequently been a guest speaker at local high schools and is also a volunteer for mock trial competitions. Judge Flaum also regularly attends numerous community events for organizations including CASA, Ralston House, Access Housing, Adams and Broomfield County Bar Association, Law Day, and the Hyland Hills Recreation District Foundation to develop good community relationships.
The Commission conducted and reviewed a personal interview with Judge Flaum, reviewed opinions he authored, observed him in court, and reviewed the limited number judicial performance survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys who had interaction in Judge Flaum's court and who had responded to surveys. Among the survey questions was "Based on your responses to the previous questions related to this performance evaluation criteria, do you think Judge Flaum meets judicial performance standards?" Of the responding attorneys, 69% answered “Yes” and 8% answered “No,” with 23% expressing no opinion. Of the three non-attorneys responding to this survey, two answered “Yes” and one answered “No.” The Commission expressed its opinion that the number of non-attorneys responding was not meaningful enough to be given much consideration.
Judge Flaum presides over a mixed county court docket in Brighton, Colorado, with 95% of the cases being civil matters such as forcible entry and detainer actions and 5% of the cases being criminal matters. Judge Flaum was a graduate of Northglenn High School. He graduated from Creighton Law School and began his career at the Adams County District Attorney’s office. In 2016, Judge Flaum was appointed to the Adams County, County Court Bench in 2016.