Nineteenth Judicial District - Weld County Court Judge
Honorable Carol M. Haller
Retention Year: 2000
Recommendation: Retain
The Nineteenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance recommends that Judge Carol M. Haller BE RETAINED.
Judge Haller was appointed to the Weld County Court on December 6, 1996. She estimates that 20% of her workload is civil cases, the other 80% are criminal cases (40% of which are misdemeanors and 60% traffic offenses). Prior to her appointment, she was in private law practice, specializing in Social Security, criminal, civil and domestic relations law.
Based on the questionnaires, non-attorneys rated Judge Haller high overall, especially in areas of intelligence, fairness, professionalism, efficiency and competence. Judge Haller considers herself to be a good researcher, takes pride in being a good listener and teacher, and believes she has one of the best divisions for accuracy of records. Of non-attorney responses received, 84% voted to retain, 10% voted not to retain and 6% had no opinion.
Attorney responses to the questionnaires rated Judge Haller above average in most categories with 71% voting to retain, 27% voting not to retain, and 2% having no opinion. The criticism of the attorneys went more to the personality of Judge Haller expressing concern about her impatience rather than objecting to her legal abilities or decisions. Judge Haller acknowledged to the commission that she sets high standards for all participants and expects attorneys to come to court prepared. She recognizes her lack of patience when her standards are not met and agreed to work on improving her judicial temperament in all situations.