Hopkins, Amanda 2020 Evaluation

Reports:
2020 Retention Survey Report

The Twelfth Judicial District Commission on Judicial Performance unanimously agrees (7-0) that Judge Amanda C. Hopkins MEETS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.

Judge Hopkins presided over several case types this term, including juvenile (35% of her docket), criminal, (35% of her docket), civil (15% of her docket), probate (10% of her docket), and domestic relations (5% of her docket) cases.  Based on the Commission’s overall evaluation, Judge Hopkins has demonstrated that she meets or exceeds performance standards in all categories.  She received her highest survey scores in the categories of demeanor and fairness.  Her survey results were above statewide averages for district judges in all categories.  Judge Hopkins was noted to diligently prepare for hearings and trials.  Her opinions are clear and easily understood.  Based on these findings, the Commission unanimously agreed that Judge Hopkins meets judicial performance standards.

The Commission conducted a personal interview with Judge Hopkins, reviewed opinions she authored, observed her in court, reviewed comments received from interested parties during the evaluation, and reviewed survey responses from appellate judges, attorneys and non-attorneys who had experience with Judge Hopkins.  In the final survey question, respondents (other than appellate judges) were asked if they thought Judge Hopkins met judicial performance standards.  Of the attorneys responding to the survey, 89% answered, yes, meets performance standards; the remaining 11% had no opinion.  Of non- attorneys responding to the survey, 100% answered yes, meets performance standards.  A total of twenty-two persons responded to surveys expressing their opinion of Judge Hopkins’s performance.

Judge Hopkins was appointed to the District Court Bench on July 10, 2018.  She graduated from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Political Economy and minor in Latin American Studies.  She earned her J.D. in 2006 from Seattle University.  Judge Hopkins moved to the San Luis Valley in 2007 to work for the Office of the State Public Defender, where she was the managing deputy public defender from December 2011 until the Summer of 2018.  Judge Hopkins is actively involved in community service in her judicial role.  She is a member of the Colorado Supreme Court’s Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being, the Colorado Legal and Judicial Education Board, and the Colorado Bar Association’s Executive Council.  Judge Hopkins has taken on additional projects outside of the courts including a truancy project with the Center of Restorative Programs; working with the Greater Colorado Task Force through the Colorado Bar Association to recruit young lawyers to rural Colorado; and studying Colorado water law.