Second Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable Jay S. Grant
Retention Year: 2024
Recommendation: Meets Performance Standards
Reports:
2024 Retention Survey Report (PDF)
2021 Interim Survey Report (PDF)
Need an accessible PDF Document Version?
Please click on the link below and email our staff
The Second Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously agrees by a vote of 9–0, with one Commissioner vacancy, that Judge Jay S. Grant MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. The Colorado statutory judicial performance criteria are integrity, legal knowledge, communication skills, judicial temperament, administrative performance, and service to the legal profession and the public.
Judge Grant currently presides over criminal matters in the Denver District Court. Judge Grant meets all aspects of the performance criteria on which he is evaluated. Judge Grant’s written decisions are clear, thorough, and well-reasoned. His notable strengths, observed by the Commission and described in survey responses, include his commitment to allow people to be heard in his courtroom, his calm judicial temperament, and his treatment of all parties with respect. The Commission, based on its observation and analysis of survey responses, did not identify any evaluation category in which Judge Grant displayed a notable weakness as to the performance criteria. Judge Grant met the Court’s productivity benchmark for criminal courtrooms, completing approximately 90% of cases within 12 months.
The Commission met with the Chief Judge of Denver District Court to discuss challenges facing the court system and also met with the Denver District Attorney and a representative of the Denver Trial Office of the Colorado State Public Defender regarding Judge Grant’s performance. The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Grant and observed him during court proceedings. It also reviewed opinions he authored, comments received from interested parties during the evaluation, recordings from his courtroom, case management data, and judicial performance survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys who interacted with him. The surveys reflected personal opinions regarding Judge Grant in the categories of case management, application and knowledge of the law, communications, diligence, demeanor, and fairness. A total of 18 attorneys and four non-attorneys responded to the judicial performance surveys expressing their opinion of Judge Grant. The overall information and data reviewed supports the Commission’s recommendation that Judge Grant be retained.
Judge Grant was appointed to the District Court in 2016. He was raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He graduated from the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University with a BA and MA, respectively. Judge Grant graduated from Oklahoma City University with a JD. Prior to his appointment, he was a trial attorney in the Denver Office of the Colorado State Public Defender.