Seventeenth Judicial District - District Court Judge
Honorable Sharon Diane Holbrook
Retention Year: 2024
Recommendation: Meets Performance Standards
Reports:
2024 Retention Survey Report (PDF)
2021 Interim Survey Report (PDF)
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The Seventeenth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously agrees by a vote of 10-0 that the Honorable Sharon Diane Holbrook MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.
This past term Judge Holbrook has presided over a Juvenile docket in Broomfield (20%), a Probate docket in Broomfield (5%), and a Criminal Docket in both Adams and Broomfield Counties (75%). Judge Holbrook is described by most that appear before her as respectful, dignified, and truly interested in all parties in a case. She will take the time to listen to all sides of a case and clearly makes a conscious effort to make sure that everyone in the courtroom feels heard. Judge Holbrook’s judicial philosophy is to, “meet people where they are,” meaning to understand where parties are coming from and crafting orders that are manageable for participants. The criticism that Judge Holbrook got was for her sentencing with many noting that Judge Holbrook is a consistently harsh sentencing judge. While that does cause concern for some members of The Commission, the overwhelming feedback about Judge Holbrook is that she clearly loves the law and keeps up to date on changes in the law, and that she brings a sense of humanity to the proceedings over which she presides. Judge Holbrook’s demeanor is respectful and interested. She has been on the bench for over a decade, yet she clearly still loves her job.
The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Holbrook, read opinions from the Colorado Court of Appeals reviewing her orders, observed her in court, interviewed the Chief Judge, the Elected District Attorney, and the Head of the Office of the Public Defender for the Seventeenth Judicial District. In addition, the Commission reviewed judicial performance survey responses from attorneys and non-attorneys who had interaction with Judge Holbrook. Among the survey questions was whether the survey participant believes that Judge Holbrook meets performance standards? Of the attorneys responding to the survey 82% answered yes; 12% answered no, and 6% had no opinion. Of the non-attorneys responding to the survey 50% said yes, and 50% had no opinion. It should be noted that a total of 14 attorneys and 3 non-attorneys completed this question, so these results alone were not persuasive to the Commission.
Judge Sharon Holbrook was appointed to the District Court in October of 2016. She serves as a District Court judge for the 17th Judicial District/Adams and Broomfield Counties. During this term she spent almost two years assigned to Broomfield County where she presided over multiple dockets, including Juvenile, Criminal, Dependency and Neglect and Probate. Prior to appointment as a judge, she served as a District Court Magistrate in Adams County. Before appointment to the bench in 2011, she served for ten years in the Adams County District Attorney's Office, including the position of Senior Trial Deputy for the Child Victim Unit.